Piece By Piece review: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in soulless Christmas filler by Amazon

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson can’t save this soulless Christmas comedy

It’s early November, which in Hollywood means the countdown to Christmas has begun. Hoping to kick start the cheer is action comedy Red One.

Sadly, it’s as exciting as finding a lump of coal in your stocking. Dwayne Johnson – star of what feels like every mainstream blockbuster from Skyscraper to Central Intelligence and Jungle Cruise – plays Callum Drift, the disenchanted head of security for Santa Claus (JK Simmons). When his boss goes missing, Drift must team up with an expert bounty hunter (Chris Evans) to rescue the jolly figurehead and save Christmas.

The film was produced by Amazon, initially intended for streaming release before last year’s actors’strikes pushed the release forward and into cinemas. It feels like content for the sake of content: a lifeless plot that plays it safe and has nothing in particular to say.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, reteaming with Jumanji director Jake Kasdan, benefits from the superior presence of actors like Simmons who could offer gravitas in their sleep. It’s unusual to see Evans as a cynical character after years as Captain America, but he does his best in a script that doesn’t offer much development for either actor.

Former Charlie’s Angel Lucy Liu gets the faux-serious tone right as Santa’s head of staff, but looks as checked out as her co-stars (and the audience). Red One trudges its way through a soulless plot toward an inevitable conclusion with little reason for seasonal cheer. Given the amount of Christmas classics re-released in the lead up to the big day, there’s little reason to get roped into this lifeless caper.

Read more: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story: homage brings a tear to the eye

Read more: Paddington In Peru review: Ben Whishaw return can’t compete with Hugh Grant classic