Dwayne Johnson’s “Red One” belongs on the dirty list

Instead, we’re left with an action film weighed down by far too many scenes of carnage and chaos. For all the mythical creatures and silly, comedic special effects, “Red One” is less fun than it should be. All the warm and fuzzy feelings the film creates are immediately interrupted by an action sequence.

Johnson plays Callum Drift (what a name!), the oldest member of ELF, the North Pole’s answer to the Secret Service. He has been Santa Claus’ bodyguard for several hundred years. But this is the last Christmas before his retirement. It seems that the magical thrill that made his job so special is now gone.

Callum calls his friend and customer Nick, but ELF calls him by his code name, Red One.

As he makes final preparations for his upcoming famous sleigh ride, Nick is captured by an unseen enemy. The criminal group located the mysterious dome that protects Santa’s workshop from view, broke through it and set off with St. Nick under Callum’s watch. This necessary sequence initiates the first of an endless series of chase scenes.

ELF’s boss, Zoe (Lucy Liu), learns that Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) was working with the kidnappers. He is the best tracker in the world and his final task was to track down the location of this magical dome. Callum wants to bash Jack’s head in, but Zoe forces them to work together to find Santa.

“He’s not to be trusted,” says Garcia (Reinaldo Faberlle), a giant talking polar bear. The reason? Like your humble reviewer, Jack is “on the naughty list.” Sassy or not, he’s still the best resource for the job. This is how “Red One” becomes a standard image for police officers.

During their search, Callum and Jack meet Krampus (Kristofer Hivju), the mythical figure who once accompanied Santa Claus on his Christmas tours to punish those who didn’t make the list. Here he is Santa’s estranged and unemployed brother, the keeper of the correspondingly extensive Naughty List.

Exiled to his own world, Krampus passes the time with this game in which the participants hit each other until one of them gives up. We’re privy to several wasted minutes of Callum and Krampus driving each other crazy. Hivju and Johnson seem to be having a great time, which alleviates the boredom.

We also meet the shapeshifter behind the kidnapping, Gryla (Kiernan Shipka), the Christmas witch, who bears an uncanny resemblance to M3GAN, the twerking killer robot. She wants to make the world a better place by punishing all naughty people on Christmas Eve. Suffice it to say, she will be very busy.

No matter where you are, Gryla will appear immediately if you, to paraphrase Destiny’s Child: “Say her name, say her name.” Of course, Jack can’t stop it, which leads to even more chaos. Buff-killing snowmen are just one of their many tools of destruction.

Although “Red One” is a bit of a pain, it’s still better than about 98 percent of the Christmas movie crap that studios and streaming services throw at us every holiday season. Johnson exudes his usual charisma and is at his most amusing when being annoyed by mere mortals.

As one of those mere mortals, Evans is a passable contrast that I found more irritating than endearing. Chris Morgan’s script tries to soften his mercenary character by giving him an ex-wife and a grumpy child who resents his absent father, but they are considered far too late to be effective.

If you want a special effects-packed holiday version of Liam Neeson’s Taken franchise this Christmas, Kasdan and company will make your wish come true. I’d rather have the cool accessory Callum wears on his arm, a device that can turn Hot Wheels toys into real cars and has the power to knock off the horns of Alpine deities.

Better yet, this movie’s version makes me want to ride on Santa’s sleigh, a tricked-out sleigh pulled by reindeer whose antlers are on fire. It looks like it’s flying from Valhalla and not the North Pole. At least the trip would give me more time with Simmons’ St. Nick, the bright spot in this passable picture.

★★

RED

Director: Jake Kasdan. Written by Chris Morgan. With Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, JK Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Kristofer Hivju, Reinaldo Faberlle. At AMC Boston Common, Landmark Kendall Square, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, AMC Causeway, Suburbs. 122 minutes. PG-13 (naughty in word and deed)

Odie Henderson is the film critic for the Boston Globe.