A simple entertainment, seeming to have been written in one evening by a pre-teen with the noble intention of protecting the spirit of Christmas…
The scenario of Code Name Red (French version of Red One) was written by the prolific Chris Morgan, to whom we owe the majority of the episodes of the ever more incredible saga The Fast and the Furious since the increasingly esteemed Tokyo Drift.
And you can feel it in the smallest details of the narrative of this muscular and adrenaline-fueled Christmas film: improbable gadgets, fights, war of egos, beautiful family story, chases around the world, character launching the inevitable “one last ride” at one time or another…
Now take this story of Santa being kidnapped on December 23, then add Dominic Toretto and his gang to save Christmas instead of the whole world. Dwayne Johnson could even have simply resumed his character of Hobbs for this improbable trip to the North Pole.
Certainly, such a scenario would have made the expression completely obsolete « jump the shark ». But frankness has long proven that even ridicule cannot overcome it.
But hey, Code Name Red is not « The Fast and the Krampus »…
What is what is actually being offered to us worth, you ask? It’s not the big tanks (excuse it!), but it holds up well enough (excuse it again!) as a fanciful action comedy wallowing without restraint in digital effects of more or less good quality, but also reserving some more joyful passages seeming to belong to another era.
Here we accompany Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), the head of the bodyguard of a Saint Nicholas in spectacular form (JK Simmons), as he must team up with the criminal Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), who, unknowingly, allowed an unknown force to infiltrate the North Pole and get their hands on Santa Claus.
The main problem of Code Name Redis that if he still manages to defend his point in the name of hope and the magic of Christmas, it’s a completely different story when it comes to the magic of cinema.
At this point, we’ve seen reindeer, elves, the North Pole and Santa’s sleigh digitally recreated in every way imaginable. So it would have taken a little more to surprise and amaze us. Especially since Morgan and director Jake Kasdan don’t offer anything very original to embellish and improve the packaging even a little.
As usual, Morgan here tries to pull as many rabbits out of his hat as possible in two hours. Spanning 123 minutes, Code Name Red However, it ends up becoming redundant, in addition to following a rhythm that is too often deficient.
Some sequences would have benefited from being more concise, while others could have been pushed a little further. For every trip to Krampus’ dark kingdom, we’re treated to a battle with digital snow colossi that’s anything but exhilarating.
The best idea of the film is undoubtedly having cast Kiernan Shipka in the role of a notorious villain who has taken some notes from Thanos’ game plan, as well as the current socio-political climate. Code Name Red nevertheless reminds us that we must never lose hope and allow ourselves to be devoured by cynicism. Strangely, the feature film arrives in cinemas exactly ten days after the most recent American presidential election…
Code Name Red stands out as simple entertainment, seeming to have been written in one evening by a pre-teen with the noble intention of protecting the spirit of Christmas… with the help of Dwayne Johnson and a magic bracelet.
In all honesty, we probably couldn’t have expected more either.
At the very least, Jake Kasdan’s film is a good way to take a much-needed break from the dripping vapidity of the Hallmark catalog. However, it would be surprising to see Code Name Red find its place among the timeless holiday classics for years to come.
