Red One

Struggling to combine all of its disparate elements and mythological references with any tonal consistency or narrative coherence, Red One certainly doesn’t spread much holiday cheer.

Another one of these seasonal fantasies that presents a convoluted scenario for Santa Claus to exist in the real world (sorry, kids), this chaotic comedy from director Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: The Next Level) winds up feeling like stale cinematic fruitcake.

It uses the yuletide backdrop as little more than an elaborate setup for Dwayne Johnson to go into globetrotting action-hero mode with exotic locales and effects-driven set pieces — sleighing some bad guys and saving the world.

Johnson plays Callum, head of security at the North Pole for more than a century who doubles as a bodyguard for Santa (J.K. Simmons) during personal appearances.

Callum is considering retirement because he’s worn down by the contemporary disillusionment and commercialism surrounding Christmas, thus the beefed-up Naughty List. But his boss — code name “Red” — takes a softer stance. “It’s not our job to change people,” Santa explains. “They need to change themselves. We just need to believe in them.”

Moments later, as final preparations are underway on Dec. 24, Santa and his brawny reindeer are kidnapped and Callum springs into action. He initially suspects Jack (Chris Evans), a petty thief and low-level hacker, might be responsible for targeting the clandestine arctic headquarters.

However, he later realizes he must reluctantly use Jack’s expertise to track the real perpetrators. The incident also attracts an outside investigator (Lucy Liu), with the shared goal of keeping their secret and locating Santa in time for his annual duties.

There are anthropomorphic creatures, high-tech gadgetry, and unexplained superpowers as the screenplay by Chris Morgan (a regular writer on the Fast and the Furious franchise) unspools a thinly sketched, ticking-clock conspiracy.

The film manages some scattered big laughs due mostly to the adversarial chemistry of its two bickering leads. A beach confrontation with some ill-tempered and heat-resistant snowmen provides a brief highlight.

The message promoting kindness and civility over cynicism and greed is worthwhile, perhaps even timely, but it’s delivered with sledgehammer subtlety through one-dimensional characters and generally predictable plotting.

The result is more exhausting than endearing, with any holiday goodwill being swallowed up by the constant mayhem. In the end, Red One is not a gift for either children or adults.

Rated PG-13, 123 minutes.