RED ONE trailer sends Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans on the hunt for Santa Claus

Here’s an idea that definitely makes sense: Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans starring together in an action comedy. A no-brainer, really. Sign us up. And here’s an idea we’re… er… not so sure about (to be polite): Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans starring together in an action comedy Christmas movie that looks like a fake. Saturday Night Live Sketch. Who would produce such a strange film about a manhunt for Santa Claus? Amazon MGM Studios. We know because they just released the first trailer for Red One.

Muscular Santa is missing and the North Pole needs help. We know that after watching this trailer, which is really silly, really cheesy and really unbelievable. No, seriously, we can hardly believe it. We’re sure this isn’t a joke, right? The official press release we received suggests it isn’t. As does the film’s official synopsis:

After Santa Claus – code name: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s security chief (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world’s most notorious bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to save Christmas on an action-packed mission around the globe.

Director: Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) The screenplay was written by long-time Fast & Furious Screenwriter Chris Morgan. The film also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel and JK Simmons as Old Swole Nick.

We actually like everyone involved in this movie, so we’re not dismissing it out of hand. It might turn out to be the good kind of silliness. But my goodness, some of the “jokes” in this trailer are really painful. If that gets us on the bad guy list, then so be it. Or at least that’s what we’d say if we weren’t so scared of the muscular Santa and his giant security chief.

Red One will be released in theaters just in time for the Christmas season on November 15, 2024.