I watched The Rock’s Christmas film with 30% on Rotten Tomatoes and it was weirdly good | Films | Entertainment

I watched The Rock’s Christmas film with 30% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was surprisingly good. Featuring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the film bombed on the film review platform, where professional critics describe it as “dismal”, “forgettable” and “hollow”.

However, eager to avoid endless scrolling on Amazon Prime, we picked one Christmas movie at random and didn’t realise it had such a paltry score of 30%. Some two hours later, I never would have known. The audience ratings from everyday viewers place it in much higher regard, with a respectable 89% on the review platform, and I happen to side with them. 

While it definitely doesn’t reach the heights of my top Christmas films — tied between Elf and The Santa Clause — Red One is an easy, fun watch. 

The Rock plays the classic ‘rescue’ role where he is most at home as the head of North Pole security. However, he is disillusioned with the world’s increasing number of thoughtless, unkind, or badly behaved people.

Having planned to retire after one final Christmas run due to his disappointment with the state of affairs, his plans are thrown awry after Santa Claus is kidnapped on Christmas Eve.

He is forced to team up with a notorious and cynical hacker, Jack O’Malley, played by Chris Evans, to try and bring him back in time for Christmas.

One critic wrote: “Dwayne Johnson has played this same type of character for so long now, and in so many movies, that he has become an imitation of himself.”

While he has a point, I don’t mind going into the film knowing what one actor will bring to the table, especially when you can waste an hour sifting through hundreds of choices.

It’s easy entertainment that’s just a bit silly and fun, which doesn’t seem too different from many Christmas traditions. 

One viewer wrote: “I loved it. I have no idea why reviews are hating this film? It was fun and an updated take on the Santa story.” A second added: “Loved it. Stellar cast. Predictable but fun and Christmassy.”  

It would be an easy watch as you make your way through the leftovers, or a great distraction for children while you catch up with friends and family. I highly doubt it deserves the 30% ranking.