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Red One
Movie

Red One

2024 • Action, Adventure, Comedy

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security must team up with a notorious hacker in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

Overall Series Review

Red One is a loud, clichéd action-adventure that attempts to retrofit the classic Christmas mythology into a modern, superhero-esque blockbuster formula. The movie focuses on a kidnapped Santa Claus and the reluctant buddy-cop pairing of his elite security chief and a cynical hacker. The plot’s primary emotional arc centers on the cynical hero learning to believe in the goodness of Christmas again and reconciling with his estranged son. The film features a diverse main cast in key roles, including a non-white Head of North Pole Security and a woman of color as the director of the global oversight agency. The narrative does not explicitly preach social justice ideology, but instead hinges on a traditional moral theme: that kindness and a renewed spirit must overcome the rising tide of modern greed and naughtiness in the world. The mythology is a secularized fantasy, not a direct critique of religion, featuring characters like Krampus and a winter witch. The gender dynamics feature powerful female figures but retain two male protagonists, with a strong focus on a man learning his responsibilities as a father.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics4/10

The lead hero, Callum Drift, the Head of North Pole Security, is played by a Polynesian actor, Dwayne Johnson, who is tasked with saving the traditionally white Santa Claus, played by J.K. Simmons. The director of the secretive global organization, MORA, is Zoe, played by Lucy Liu, placing a woman of color in a top authority position over the white male characters. The casting exhibits intentional, high-level diversity in roles traditionally portrayed by white actors, but the narrative avoids direct political lecturing or overt vilification of the white male characters.

Oikophobia2/10

The central mission is to save the Western holiday institution of Christmas, explicitly framing it as a necessary good against chaotic forces. The conflict stems from the hero’s crisis of faith, which is caused by the rising number of 'naughty' and self-centered people in the world, reflecting a critique of modern societal decay, not an indictment of historical Western civilization or ancestors. Institutions like the North Pole and the Clause family are presented as shields against global despair.

Feminism3/10

Female characters hold significant power; the global mythological oversight agency is run by a woman, and the primary antagonist is Grýla, a powerful winter witch. However, the core narrative remains a male buddy-cop story between the Head of Security and the hacker. The plot features a traditional family focus, with a subplot where the male lead, Jack O'Malley, must overcome being an absentee father to his son, emphasizing a man's duty to his family. Mrs. Claus is present and depicted with traditional warmth.

LGBTQ+1/10

There is no evidence the movie centers sexual identity as the most important trait, deconstructs the nuclear family as an 'oppressive' structure, or includes lecturing on gender ideology, particularly for children. The family dynamic focuses on a man struggling to be a present father to his son, aligning with a normative structure. A brief appearance of a male shapeshifter disguising himself as a woman exists as a minor element within the fantasy setting but does not constitute a major ideological theme.

Anti-Theism2/10

The movie does not express hostility toward religion. It promotes a theme of transcendent morality by presenting a clear moral dualism—kindness and grace over the 'naughty' forces of the world—which is embodied in the figure of Santa Claus. The hero’s arc involves overcoming cynicism and restoring his faith in the moral mission of Christmas, affirming an objective good in the world.