Hailing from one of the main writers behind the Fast & Furious franchise, the Christmas-themed flick has a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Red One, one of 2024’s biggest action movies, has just been added to Prime Video only weeks after its cinema release.
From director Jake Kasdan (2017’s Jumanji) and writer Chris Morgan (multiple Fast & Furious flicks), the fantasy action comedy revolves around the kidnapping of Santa Claus (Oscar-winner JK Simmons, Whiplash) – whose code name is ‘Red One’
In response, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson, Black Adam) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans, Captain America) in a globe-trotting, mission to save Christmas.
The cast of Red One also includes Bonnie Hunt (Cheaper by the Dozen), Kiernan Shipka (Netflix’s Sabrina), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth).
Reportedly costing over $200 million to make, the film landed in cinemas last month and earned mixed-to-negative reviews from critics overall.
Based on its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes of 90% and its rather high IMDB score of 6.7, however, audiences seem to have been kinder to the movie.
You can read a sample of some of the positive write-ups from critics for Red One below:
The Film Verdict: “The challenge is to balance the mayhem with the holly-jolly, to blow stuff up while also allowing troubled characters to find the nice in themselves and in each other, and Red One fulfills both of those wish-list items with a cheeky finesse.”
New York Times: “Red One, a film that has the courage to ask: What if the Santa Claus story was like a Marvel movie?”
Screen International: “The mixture of laughs, sentiment and action should satisfy undemanding families, and the story’s world-building offers enough novelty to what can otherwise be a predictable package.”
USA Today: “Oozing peppermint machismo and unleashing frosty brawls, Red One will entertain action-loving kids and fans who like to see things blow up.”
Washington Post: “The looseness feels refreshing — a nod to the kind of giddy, sloppy 1980s flick this wants to be, a child-pleaser that will live on forever in a back bedroom while the grown-ups do their boring adult chitchat on the living room couch.”
Where to Watch
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Red One is available to stream on Prime Video in Ireland, the UK and the US.
As well as this, the action film is also still playing in cinemas.
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