In Red One, Captain America plays an asshole and Black Adam looks bored—but as a weird Christmas action movie that will largely be watched at home for years to come, it has enough heft to fill your stocking. 

Dwayne Johnson plays the primary bodyguard to Santa Claus and his operations, but fails miserably when “Red One” is kidnapped by sinister forces for unknown uletide reasons. He is forced to team with a Level Four Naughty Lister (Chris Evans) to save Christmas. 

Red One isn’t a great movie, but it’s a serviceable Christmas movie for families who want a bit more action in the mix (along with demonic Krampus and killer snowmen) and don’t mind fairly prevalent use of the word “shit.”

The movie works in spite of Johnson, who delivers a rather subdued/flat performance that is thankfully countered by Evans’ more bombastic turn. Nonetheless they have decent chemistry together and tend to thrive when they are in precarious situations.

Red One isn’t worth dwelling on more than this, but if you’re looking for mindless fun, it wraps just enough up into a box to make it worth a free viewing on Amazon Prime. 

Review by Erik Samdahl.