Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars in this festive action comedy, building on his early career work in The Tooth Fairy. Or not, as the case may be.
When is Red One being released in New Zealand?
Red One is hitting New Zealand cinemas on November 14.
Red One
What is Red One about?
Directed by Jake “son of Lawrence” Kasdan and not to be confused with maverick Sam Fuller’s superb WWII film The Big Red One (go see that, por favor), Red One sees big Dwayne as Callum Drift, head of security for none other than Santa Claus.
When the man in red is snatched on Callum’s watch, the bodyguard must team up with sardonic bounty hunter Jack O’Malley to get him back. Expect a silly, seasonal, contemporary fantasy action comedy, machine-calibrated to appeal to all four quadrants.
The cast of Red One
Dwayne Johnson is Callum Drift; Chris Evans is Jack O’Malley; living legend J. K. Simmons is Santa Claus; Bonnie hunt is Mrs Claus; Kristofer Hivju is the Christmas demon, Krampus; and Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Liu, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, and Jenna Kanell are also aboard this one horse open sleigh.
Red One trailer
Why we’re excited about Red One
Okay, pump your brakes there, kid – “excited” is not the right word. This thing sounds like a fake movie from 30 Rock, or perhaps one of the hundred or so largely interchangeable streaming flicks that both Johnson and Evans seem to have fanged out over the last few years.
The latter is closer to the truth – Red One was going to premiere as an Amazon Prime Video exclusive, and it looks it. But industry disruption (pandemic, strikes, and what have you) means it’s getting a global theatrical release instead.
Will it get bums on seats? Hard to say. It vibes like a lazy Friday evening watch, not a cinema trip, but stranger things have happened.
