Webknight's Movie Corner
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There is a secondary plot of Jack dealing with his relationship with his son, Dylan (Wesley Kimmel). Ultimately, they are brought together by the villain, Gryla(Kiernan Shipka). Gryla has kidnapped Santa so she can punish ALL the people on the naughty list.
"We choose every day who we want to be. With big decisions and little ones, and every one of them matters." This is the core lesson from Red One. At it's core is the idea that every choice, big or small, matters.
Be prepared for a not so nice Chris Evans character. At least, at the start, this is a Christmas movie after all. There is a scene where Jack shows he may not be as naughty as he seemed. This happens in a scene where Cal and Jack end up meeting Nick's adopted brother, Krampus (Kristofer Hivju). Jack steals something and Cal and Jack are brought before Krampus. Krampus was going to let Jack go and O'Malley could have left Cal to his fate. Instead he manipulates Krampus into a situation where they can escape together after brawling with Krampus and his minions.
It's a very fun, heartwarming, action-adventure comedy. It has humor that almost all ages will find encouraging and fun.
It has some steampunky elements like the toy duplicating machine and Santa's sleigh. Most of Santa's tech could be considered steampunk. In case you are wondering what steampunky means, think weird science...
One interesting take is that Santa is NOT a fat man. You have to admire J.K. Simmons' workout routine.
There is quite a menagerie of other myths and folklore. These folklore creatures are handled by the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority(MORA). Director Zoe Harlow, played by Lucy Liu, is laser focused on finding Nick. The following is just a small sample of creatures: Talking polar bear, trolls, and even the Headless Horseman.
I'm not a critic so don't expect a detailed breakdown of writing, acting direction, cinematography, music, etc. There are some really good effects like the snowmen and the reindeer, which are actually Meglaceros Giganticus! There isn't a lot of music, just a few modern covers of a couple Christmas songs.
Overall I consider Red One to be a very good Christmas movie. It's also a good odd couple movie. I like the chemistry between Evans and Johnson. I can actually see J.K. Simmons as the real Santa, he projects the kind of energy I would expect from St. Nick. It deserves better than the 33% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. At least the people rated it much more reasonably at 96%.
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Kesley Grammer's character (a modern day Scrooge) Brian dies on Christmas Eve. On his way to his final reward he meets Death in the form of Santa. Death Santa offers him 12 do-overs until he understands what Christmas is really about, what life is really about.
It opens with Brian learning what seems like an okay lesson about working hard from his father, but then you see he took it too far. He doesn't have any relationships of any depth. He's killed by Chekhov's reindeer*. You see him interact with his neighbor, his board of directors, a potential investor, an old flame, his assistant, his daughter, and his granddaughter.
He keeps trying to buy the love of the people around him.
As examples for each person(s) in the various do-overs:
1: Brian mainly ignores or subtly puts down his neighbor, Jet. At the end he asks Jet to decorate for him.
2: Initially Brian does not recognize the hard work of his assistant, but in the end he makes him the Chief Operating Officer of his company, PC Electric.
3: Brian is very harsh in his criticism of the board of directors, especially when they propose a new, more modern advertising campaign. Eventually he is on board with the changes. However, they will need an investor...
4: The investor, Nina Nishii, actually has more in common with a corporate raider than an investor, but after getting some worthy advice from Brian she decides to really invest instead of raiding the company. I think this is one of the most important things that he does. Because, even though it's a small part in the story, the advice he gives her will probably prevent her from following the same path that he did. He wasted most of his life chasing success, but never found any happiness.
5: Brian's old flame Sara. At first he pretty much disregards her. In the end, however, there is a hint that they may still have a chance even this late in the game. But the most important thing is that she relays to Brian what his father had told her about him. His father had really loved him, and that he had been too hard on him.
6: His granddaughter Harkin, he has not been very active in her life until he starts trying to buy her love with fulfilling all of her wants, but eventually he figures out that what she needs from him is simply to be recognized and sharing himself with her, like when she helps fix a radio.
7: Unfortunately, his biggest mistakes are centered around his daughter, Michelle. He was always too busy trying to make a better life for her and in the end he had not been there for her growing up, and when she needed him the most. All he can really do is acknowledge that he screwed up and promise to do better. He tells her how much he loves her and how very proud he is of her. That's all she ever really wanted.
He's on his final try when he royally screws everything up. He has finally stopped worrying about himself, and he realizes that technically Death Santa has only given him 11 do-overs. In his opinion the first Christmas Eve doesn't count. But Death Santa finally agrees to give him a chance to fix things, but he will still die that day. He is able to fix all the things he had messed up.
However, Death Santa is generous and lets him live. Although, if you think about it, the old version of Brian has died. He's Brian 2.0 now, still a good businessman, but now he recognizes the importance of keeping his relationships alive.
* The reindeer is mentioned in a news report near the beginning of the story.