Avis Metacritic

Red's dialogue is a bit blunt, its characters are too broadly outlined, and the situation verges on the ludicrous at times, especially in the way these dumb kids keep committing terrible crimes without leaving any evidence. But the movie isn't meant to be an exercise in realism.

Cox brilliantly underplays Avery, Sizemore is perfect as the arrogant dad, and the three boys (Noel Fisher, Kyle Gallner and Shiloh Fernandez) are right on pitch. Red the dog's pretty wonderful, too.

Touchy subject matter aside, Red demonstrates real elegance in its commitment to a relatively straightforward story, allowing the characters' emotions to come to a slow boil.

Its earnest, always incomplete quest haunts us in ways stock imagery cannot.

The movie's escalating series of tit-for-tat revenge ploys becomes a bit tedious even at 95 minutes, but Cox and a rich (if not always well-served) supporting cast that includes Tom Sizemore, Amanda Plummer, and Robert Englund keep it more than watchable throughout.

Once Avery's mission assumes a Freudian dimension, the allegory loses its moral force and changes from a meditation on justice, power and inequality into a gory melodrama.

Any movie that opens with the killing of a pet dog is definitely going to capture your attention. But where do you go from there?