Lucy Liu

‘Red One’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

“Red One” is the latest film from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the biggest names and highest paid actors in Hollywood. I am very familiar with Johnson’s work from his time in the professional wrestling industry, which is something I follow closely. He has become one of the biggest brands in the world. It is rare to find someone out there who does not know who Johnson is, either from his time in professional wrestling or his movie career. Personally speaking, I cannot help but respect and admire how he has built his career in two different industries, but lately, I am starting to suffer from a major case of Dwayne Johnson fatigue.

The film follows the story of Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) who oversees and protects Nick, aka Santa, aka Red One, played by J.K. Simmons. Callum Drift informs Santa this will be their last Christmas together, and then he is calling it quits. He has seen the naughty list grow by over twenty percent, and he feels as though too many people are losing the real meaning of Christmas. They are more interested in their own selfish needs as opposed to being good human beings. Santa tells him there are good people all around the world still, and he should not lose his hope in humanity. In classic movie fashion, Callum is going to retire so, of course, this means his final days will be filled with peril, stress, and action.

On Christmas Eve of all nights, Santa is kidnapped thanks to the help of a mercenary bounty hunter named Jack O’Malley, played by Chris Evans. Callum’s boss, Zoe (Lucy Liu) puts him in charge of tracking down Jack to find out the whereabouts of Santa. Jack confesses he does not know anything about the kidnapping, and he follows the money when it comes to his job opportunities. Lucy Liu oversees the MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority), and they take their job of protecting Santa very seriously. In order for Santa to be able to do his job, Jack and Callum must put their differences aside, team up together, and find out who was behind this mission and save Santa.

“Red One” is an absolute mess of a film from start-to-finish. One of the biggest issues with the film is that Johnson and Evans have no chemistry together on screen. This is not a fun buddy movie as Johnson takes this role too seriously while Evans is a goofball. The dialogue written for their characters is also bland and unfunny. When you have two actors with the charisma of Johnson and Evans, it should make for a fun, silly and enjoyable thrill-ride. Instead, this movie is dead on arrival. Johnson looks like he is sleepwalking throughout this movie.

The movie is searching for a consistent tone. As stated earlier, Johnson gives a one-note performance throughout the film. He is supposed to be a funny tough guy who takes himself too seriously, only he is not funny at all. His performance is so wooden, and it does not work with this material. Johnson and Evans should have played up their dynamic of being polar opposites in a way that was natural, organic, and funny. It is hard when the script does not give either of them anything of interest to say. J.K. Simmons, by the way, is barely in the movie. He is there at the beginning and he only shows up again at the end.

The film also tries to do too much in its over two-hour running time. It introduces shapeshifting, Krampus and scenes involving snowmen attacking the two main characters at the beach. What is going on here? The writer, Chris Morgan, has written such films as “Cellular,” “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift,” “Wanted,” “Fast and Furious,” “Fast Five” and “Furious 7,” and he has worked with Johnson before. Morgan has also worked in the action genre before, and he has had a lot of success. On paper, this film should have been a big hit at the box office. You have Johnson and Evans working together for the first time, Morgan as the writer, and the backdrop of Christmas.

For whom was this movie made? Was it made for children? I cannot see children really getting into this movie. It is not that it is too violent or too intense for children, as that is not the problem. The problem is the film does not have a sense of wonder or a sense of fun. It is also not really for adults as it is too silly and juvenile for an adult audience. I do not really know who “Red One” is going to appeal to, unless you are a diehard fan of Johnson or Evans. They should have kept this movie simple. They should have kept it under two hours, focused more on the dynamic between Johnson and Evans, given them better dialogue, and it should have been a lighthearted unlikely buddy comedy with heart. Instead, it is a brainless and soulless action flick. “Red One” is one of the worst movies of 2024.

½* out of * * * *

4K Info: “Red One” is being released on a single disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. It also comes with a digital copy of the film. The film has a running time of 123 minutes and is rated PG-13 for action, some violence, and language.

4K Video Info: Warner Brothers is one of the most consistent studios when it comes to their home video releases on 4K, and “Red One” is no exception. The Dolby Vision transfer is vivid, colorful, and full of life. This is an exceptionally clean and crisp-looking 4K.

4K Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is also perfect for this film, as it has a good thump to it during the action sequences. Subtitles included are in English, Latin Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Italian, German, Parisian French, Canadian French, Dutch, Chinese – Complex, and Cantonese.

Special Features:

NONE

Should You Buy It?

With certain movies, you can feel the length of its run time. “Red One” is a movie where I felt every minute of its 123-minute run time. This film needed to focus on the strengths of its two main actors and not get bogged down with a convoluted backstory and mindless action that did not mean anything or go anywhere. This film was restlessly boring, and I did not chuckle or smirk once while watching it. I just wanted it to be over. This should have been an enormous success especially considering Hollywood is always in the market for new Christmas movies. Instead, they really lost the plot here.  On the bright side, the 4K looks and sounds terrific. There are no special features included here, and I think that says a lot about the film.  If you did enjoy this film, I’d recommend buying it when it goes on sale.  If you are a Dwayne Johnson or Chris Evans superfan, you might enjoy it, but you must really love everything they do. For everyone else, this is a hard pass.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free. The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ Movie and 4K/Blu-ray Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit Correspondent, Tony Farinella.

Your enjoyment level for “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” will depend on how funny or clever you find its main protagonist, played by Zachary Levi. Personally speaking, he is an actor I’ve never been a fan of, especially in these films.  I found his performance incredibly irritating, silly and annoying. I understand he’s trying to portray a silly high schooler as an adult who is learning how to be mature and deal with his new superpowers.  However, I just found his performance to be very grating after a while. He’s very over the top.  I’m all for a superhero film where they have some fun as it doesn’t have to be so dark and dreary throughout. There is room for every type of superhero film out there, and I fully respect and get that.  However, he is not the right actor for balancing the goofy scenes along with the more serious action sequences.

Our film opens up in a museum in Athens, Greece where two of the three daughters of the Titan Atlas break in to steal the Wizard’s broken staff from the previous film. Billy Batson (Zachary Levi) is trying to keep his family together as he’s about to turn eighteen and is worried he will be thrown out of the house as his foster parents, Victor and Rosa Vasquez (Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans), are struggling to keep it all together financially.  He’s also suffering from a case of imposter syndrome. In essence, he’s insecure and also struggling to figure out his place in the world. Can he keep his “Shazamily” of foster siblings together, as they are maturing and developing their own interests and unique personalities?

However, he has to act fast as two of the daughters of the Titan Atlas, played by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu, have captured his brother Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) along with a newly repaired Wizard staff.  Early on, they are also dealing with controversy for their crime fighting methods in Philadelphia.  In fact, they are now known as The Philly Fiascos thanks to some of their mishaps, even though their hearts were in the right place. As mentioned previously, the family has a lot on its mind.  For Freddy Freeman, before he was captured, he had a crush on a girl named Anne, played by Rachel Zegler. Pedro Peña (Jovan Armand) is keeping a secret he’s not sure he’s ready to share with the world quite yet.

Darla Dudley (Faithe Herman) is trying to accept growing up while still being a kid at heart. Eugene Choi (Ian Chen) is preoccupied, and Mary Bromfield (Grace Caroline Currey) wants to get into college and is focusing on her studies.  They must come together as a family and put their individual interests aside in order to conquer The Three Daughters of the Titan Atlas. They work better when they are together, but it is important they get on the same page and focus on the task at hand. From here on out, we get a lot of explosions, special effects, bad jokes, and a big finale.  The film was never boring and it kept my attention for its over two-hour running time.  However, it just fell flat for me because of Levi’s performance and just the fact that the film lost its sense of direction near the end and went all over the map.

I’m completely aware that sequels are part of Hollywood when a film is successful, especially when we are talking about a superhero film.  People will flock to them.  There is a built-in audience already.  The “Shazam!” films have been directed by David F. Sandberg, and I was a huge fan of his previous two films: “Lights Out” and “Annabelle: Creation.”  The film looks really good, as he has a keen visual sense.  However, I didn’t feel the heart of the film as much as I would have liked, and it’s a big problem here.  I liked it better than the first one, but when the lead actor is such a ham on screen and so phony and fake with his line readings and performance, it really takes you out of the story. I liked everyone else and thought they did a really good job, but once it becomes a bloated mess and Billy Batson turns into a one-line machine, the film just didn’t work for me.  If you liked the first one, you will like the second one.  If you didn’t, there isn’t anything here that is going to change your mind or convert you to this character and this franchise.

* * out of * * * *

4K Info: “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” is released on a two-disc 4K and Blu-ray combo pack from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  It has a running time of 130 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of action, violence and language. The film comes with a digital copy to be redeemed as well.

Video Info: We are treated to a beautiful Dolby Vision transfer here that really stands out and pops.  The film looks beautiful on 4K, especially the action sequences.  Even though they can be overdone and unnecessary at times, I can admit when they look beautiful. My issue is more of the fact they don’t hold as much weight when the emotional heart of the film isn’t present.  The darks set the mood when it needs to, and the film is also filled with color and light when it calls for it.

Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is also really, really good here.  With a film that relies heavily on action, you worry about the film being so loud that it takes you out of the film.  Here, thanks to the Dolby Atmos track, it’s never too loud or soft.  It’s perfect throughout the entire duration of the film.

Special Features:

SHAZAM! Let’s Make a Sequel – featurette

The Rock of Eternity: Decked Out – featurette

The Shazamily Reunion – featurette

The Zac Effect – featurette

The Sisterhood of the Daughters of Atlas – featurette

Pay By Play: Scene Breakdown – featurettes

    Ben Franklin bridge collapse

    Rooftop battle of the gods

    Unicorn ride in Philadelphia

    Epic showdown at the baseball stadium

The Mythology of Shazam! – featurette

Director’s Audio Commentary with David F. Sandberg

Deleted Scenes, Alternate & Extended Scenes

Should You Buy It?

As a 4K disc, it looks and sounds out of this world. I’m a big fan of what Warner Brothers does with its 4K releases. They really place a high importance on giving their big screen movies a proper release on 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.  There are also a lot of special features here, so if you enjoy “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” you will enjoy this disc and its special features. If I’m grading this movie overall, it’s just average.  It was watchable and entertaining at times, but it’s a film I have no interest in rewatching, and I don’t think it will have great repeat value.  There are rare moments where the heart of the film is on display, and I liked those moments. The main struggle here is the balance between comedy, action and drama.  The film doesn’t quite pull this task off successfully during its over two-hour running time.  When it does, it’s good fun.  When it doesn’t, it’s very bland and uninteresting.  This is a film in search of a tone.  If you are a fan of this franchise, you will be happy with the 4K release.  If you are watching this for the first time or didn’t enjoy the first one, this sequel is not going to win you over.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.