Trama

After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security must team up with a notorious hacker in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

After Santa Claus -- Code Name: RED ONE -- is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world's most infamous bounty hunter and notorious hacker (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.—Official synopsis

With the Naughty List getting longer by the minute and Christmas just around the corner, Santa Claus, call sign Red One, has his work cut out for him. To further complicate matters, pure evil has infiltrated Saint Nick's North Pole workshop, threatening to ruin the festive holiday spirit. Now, Santa's formidable right-hand man must team up with a notorious hacker to track down the culprit before it's too late. However, as the annual gift-giving ride hangs in the balance, can these two mismatched defenders learn to work together to save Christmas?—Nick Riganas

As a kid Jack visited his Uncle Rick (Marc Evan Jackson) on Christmas. Jack did not believe in Santa Claus and told his cousins the same thing. He ate the cookies & milk meant for Santa and was not afraid of the naughty list. 30 years later, Jack grew up to be a professional hacker. He breaks into the office of National Oceanic Geographic Administration (NOGA) and hacks their computer system hardware.

MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) is a clandestine, multilateral military organization that oversees and protects a secret peace treaty between mythological creatures and humanity. Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), commander of ELF (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification) and head of Santa Claus's (J. K. Simmons) security detail, requests to retire after one last Christmas run, as he has become disillusioned with increased naughty behavior in the world, exemplified by the growth of Santa's Naughty List. The list has grown by 22% over last year and for the first time the Naughty List is bigger than the Nice List. Callum is experiencing a loss of faith. Callum had served Santa for 542 years.

Every year Santa (also known as Saint Nicholas of Myra) comes to the US to meet kids at a mall, prior to Christmas, as that is when the Santas are expected in malls. Callum and his team are deputed to protect him. Team includes ELF Agent Ginerva (Regina Ting Chen), Agent Garcia (an anthropomorphic polar bear agent), Agent Kenny (Kenny Waymack Jr.), ELF Agent Barskova (Gissette Valentin), ELF Welcoming Agent (James Cheek), ELF Agent Fred (Philip Fornah) and others.

During his run to deliver gifts, Santa's sleigh (code named Red One) is protected by Air Force fighters. Some of the agents are assigned permanently to the North Pole, to Santa's base of operations. Santa burns 430 million calories every Christmas Eve. On this particular flight, Santa's destination coordinates are tracked by Jack (using NOGA tracking satellites), and sold to an anonymous buyer online.

On Christmas Eve, a black ops team breaks into the North Pole complex and kidnaps Santa. Callum notifies Director Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu) about the kidnapping, and her team discovers that the North Pole's secret location was compromised by Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans), a mercenary black-hat hacker who claims to be able to find anything in the world.

Jack is asked by his ex-wife Olivia (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) to pick up his son Dylan from school, as she is busy with work. Dylan is in trouble at school for altering the attendance records. When Jack speaks to Dylan they really connect, and Olivia wants Jack to give more time to Dylan, but Jack says that he is busy.

Zoe apprehends Jack for questioning. Jack says that he was told he was tracking someone who was running tests on weapon systems in the Arctic. Zoe informs Jack that he helped kidnap Santa. Zoe tells Jack that it is her job to protect the mythological world.

A longtime Santa skeptic, Jack explains that he did not know the information he hacked was related to Santa and merely sent it to an anonymous buyer. Zoe offers to double Jack's payment if he helps them find Santa and places a tracker inside him. Callum reluctantly teams up with Jack to find Santa by tracking down Ted (Nick Kroll), the broker who arranged the deal between Jack and the kidnapper in Aruba. Callum reveals that the supply rooms of toy stores act as portals for the North Pole Field Network Transport system. He also has the technology to take any toy and to convert it into its actual size (like taking a car and making it into a real car that can be used in a chase or for transportation).

Ted tells them the kidnapper is the winter witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka). Gryla becomes aware of their conversation from her name being spoken and sends her snowmen henchmen to eliminate them; though Callum and Jack defeat them, Ted is frozen in the scuffle (from a weapon used by the snowmen). Gryla declares that her plan is to punish all of the people on the naughty list. Gryla is a Shape-Shifter and a 900 year old Ogre who has 13 sons who kill on her command.

Meanwhile Gryla had Santa in custody and says that the world is a mess as people have nothing to fear. She is adamant that she will make the world a better place by giving them something to be afraid of. She extracts the energy from Santa.

Callum suspects that Gryla might be working with Krampus (Kristofer Hivju) as she visited him recently, Santa's estranged adoptive brother, who is also Gryla's ex-lover and the one who created the Naughty List. Krampus started punishing the kids on the Naughty list and Santa was furious, which led to their falling out. Callum and Jack break into Krampus' lair but are captured. Callum appeals to Krampus to help his brother, who misses him, but Krampus refuses.

He reveals that Gryla came to him to recover the Glaskafig, a magical imprisoning snow globe. Krampus decides to keep Callum for his unauthorized intrusion into his lair. Despite being allowed to leave, Jack stays and persuades Krampus to play Krampusschlap (in which both opponents slap each other and whoever is left standing, wins) with Callum, during which Jack recovers Callum's magic gauntlet and returns it to him, allowing the pair to escape.

Gryla and her sons the Yule Lads (Adam Boyer, Derek Russo, Michael Tourek and Kia Shine) keep Santa in a vault that siphons his magic, knocking him unconscious. Gryla duplicates the Glaskafig and intends to rid the world of every naughty child who has ever been on the Naughty List by imprisoning them forever. She tests the snow globes on Jack and his estranged son Dylan (Wesley Kimmel). She sends each of them a snow globe that imprisons them and returns to her lair. Jack and Dylan, inside their snow globes next to each other, have a heartfelt conversation that, by making them "nicer", causes the snow globes to break and free them.

After using a tracker inside him, Zoe and Callum find Jack at the North Pole complex and realize that Gryla, her team, and Santa never left the North Pole. They also learn that Gryla's team of Shape-Shifters has taken over the complex. They go to the North Pole and free the imprisoned Mrs. Claus (Bonnie Hunt) and other security staff. In Santa's old workshop, they find Jack and Dylan and the toy-duplicating equipment that Gryla used to mass-produce the Glaskafigs.

Because the North Pole equipment relies on Santa's powers, Gryla prepares to leave with an unconscious Santa using his sleigh to distribute the Glaskafigs. A fight ensues, and Gryla is stopped by Callum and Jack, with an assist from Krampus, who arrives to help. Santa recovers, defeats Gryla, and seals her inside one of her Glaskafigs. Santa acknowledges his brother while Gryla is taken into Zoe's custody.

Everyone rapidly prepares for the night's Christmas Eve run. Santa invites Jack and Dylan to accompany him, which they accept. During the successful run, Callum watches Jack regain his wonder and build a relationship with Dylan. This restores Callum's faith and convinces him not to retire.