Mere weeks out from the big day, Prime Video's just added a new Christmas action movie for anyone looking to get into the holiday spirit.
Just one month on from its theatrical release, "Red One" was made available to stream on Prime Video on December 12.
Even though critics gave it the cold shoulder and "Red One" still isn't anywhere close to recouping that eye-watering reported $250 million budget at the box office, the movie may well have a second life in the streaming world.
One day after its Prime Video debut, "Red One" has stolen the No. 1 spot in the Prime Video Top 10, ahead of "Secret Level" and "Cross" (at the time of writing). And if you find you don't typically agree with the critical consensus on new releases, here's another reason to add "Red One" to your nice (watch)list: viewers are apparently loving this new Christmas caper.
On the hunt for a new holiday movie? Here's some more info about "Red One", including a sample of what moviegoers and critics have had to say about the new flick. Spoiler alert: they've got vastly different opinions.
What is 'Red One' about?
"Red One" is a Christmas action-comedy movie that takes us to a militarized vision of the North Pole for a festive rescue adventure.
Just before Christmas Day, Santa Claus (JK Simmons) is kidnapped, and the movie sees the North Pole's Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) teaming up with Jack, the hacker (Chris Evans) who passed on Saint Nick's location to the bad guys and embarking on a daring mission to save Christmas.
In addition to starring The Rock, "Red One" also features Lucy Liu, Bonnie Hunt, Kiernan Shipka, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and Nick Kroll, among others.
Should you stream 'Red One'?
"Red One" has certainly proved to be a divisive watch; depending on who you ask, or whose opinion you trust, you'll likely get a very different answer to the above question.
On the review aggregate site, Rotten Tomatoes, opinions are certainly split. At the time of writing, "Red One" holds a 30% critics score; on the other hand, the movie landed a 90% score on the Popcornmeter, indicating most moviegoers really enjoyed it.
For example, Empire's Helen O'Hara gave the movie a 2-star rating, writing: "There’s a little bit of heart here, in the story of two people who have lost faith in Christmas for very different reasons, but more often this feels engineered in a lab to provide seasonal spectacle."
Variety writer Owen Gleiberman was somewhat more savage, arguing: "I’m not sure that a Hollywood movie has ever kicked off the season with less true Christmas spirit than “Red One" and describing the movie in turn as possessing "charmless energy" and arguing it is "generically derivative". Ouch.
In general, though, fellow viewers couldn't disagree more. Scroll through the viewer reactions on the same site, and you'll see lots of 5-star reviews. Viewers are praising the visual effects and calling "Red One" things like "fantastic fun", "so funny", and "a must see for Christmas".
Call me a humbug if you want, though, but after streaming it myself, I'm inclined to agree with the critics. I wouldn't recommend checking out "Red One", as I don't think it's destined to become a Christmas classic anytime soon.
It might be flashy and boast an impressive roster of stars, but it's just a kind of ultra-bland affair, one devoid of the magic that makes other festive features repeat appointment viewing. Frankly, the whole thing plays like a C-tier superhero movie with a festive filter laid on top.
If you won't be streaming "Red One" and now need some streaming advice, we've still got plenty more articles on-site purpose-built to help you find something new to watch on Prime Video and beyond. Check out our round-up of the best Christmas movies on Prime Video or our overall list of the best movies on Prime Video for more help finding your next watch.
