RED 2

If you liked the first RED, and understood what it was and what is wasn't, you should be completely entertained by RED 2. We were lucky enough to see an advanced showing before the naysayers started spreading their naying and we walked out of the theater last night laughing, quoting, and discussing the movie - always a good sign! This is not a movie that needs to be over-analyzed... as my husband said, "It was exactly what I was hoping it would be." which is, more interesting characters played by top notch well-known actors getting into all kinds of far-out situations. Great lite summer fare and we will definitely be re-watching this one again when it hits the premium cable channels (just like we have with RED).

Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and his retired but extremely dangerous operatives are back to face danger again. There's a nuclear threat to be snuffed out but things really could go either way...

It's pretty much more of the same really, which apparently hasn't been enough for some critics who wanted a different movie. It's not as if this is lazy, yes it's still Frank and his aged assassins fighting old age as well as an outside threat, but there's a flip-flop in plotting and the additions of Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee and Catherine Zeta-Jones are most welcome. It's also so nice to see the adorable Mary-Louise Parker get a substantial part this go around, while Helen Mirren (still sexy and gorgeous in her late 60s) is delightfully sociopathic!

Red 2 is full to the brim with acting talent who are in on the fun joke of it all. Action is never in short supply and the pace is never allowed to sag by director Dean Parisot. The characters remain strong thanks to the screenplay (Jon and Erich Hoeber) and the airy humour is consistent and keeps the violence grounded. Basically, this is a hugely enjoyable ball of action based froth. 7/10

The retired CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is in love with Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) and enjoying their normal life in two. Out of the blue, Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) meets Frank in the supermarket and tells that the Wikileaks has released the information that they had participated and know the whereabouts of the Nightshade, a portable nuclear weapon that was smuggled in pieces and hidden in Russia. Now the top agents on the world are under contract to seek them out to know where Nightshade is.

The trio travels to Paris and teams-up with the Russian Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to track down the former Russian Agent The Frog (David Thewlis) to get more information about the operation. They learn that the brilliant inventor Dr. Edward Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) might know where the weapon is. They discover that Bailey has been interned in an asylum in London by the MI-16 for thirty-two years and the British Victoria (Helen Mirren) joins the team. They rescue Bailey and find that the nuclear device is hidden in the Kremlin. Soon the dangerous South Korean Han (Byung-hun Lee) joins the group expecting to retrieve the weapon. But the dangerous killer Jack Horton (Neal McDonough) is hunting Frank down and will not stop until he recovers the nuclear bomb.

"Red 2" is the sequel of "Red" that keeps the same level of entertainment of the first movie. The plot is full of action and humor and works perfectly, supported by a stellar cast and magnificent locations. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Red 2: Aposentados e Ainda Mais Perigosos" ("Red 2: Retired and Still More Dangerous")

This film is about the missions of a bunch of retired ex-spies who are still extremely dangerous.

It's refreshing to have an action comedy! It's not easy to have all the killings and explosions happening, and yet maintaining a light hearted and fun tone. "Red 2" succeeds again in reaching the balance, making it enjoyable and fun. There are many cool scenes such as Helen Mirren firing guns with both hands towards opposite directions from a car. Mary Louise Parker's character is also fun, she seems not to know how to do anything but she is still so cool and funny. It's nice to see an action film having a big female presence, it's such a pleasant change. All the characters I enjoyed watching "Red 2", and maybe there will be another sequel?

Red 2, like the original Red, is not meant to be taken seriously. In many of my other reviews I come down hard for ridiculous plot lines and lack of believability, but this flick was never intended to be taken seriously on any level. It is a comical take on action/spy movies and so it matters not what liberties are taken.

If you enjoy Bruce Willis being Bruce Willis, you like non-stop action and you are in the mood for some mindless entertainment, it is worth a watch. No thinking required.

Personally, I enjoyed the original Red and I like watching the "old codgers" play it up on the action scene. Yes, Helen Mirren is certainly getting old, but she still exudes sex appeal (which has little to do with age or looks) and she is amazingly credible as an action hero. I'd love to see her star in some serious action/spy films.

Malkovich is his usual self and plays a small uninspired role. The surprise for me was Anthony Hopkins. He didn't have too much to do here, but more than I thought. He could have fluffed his way through a film like this, but he took the role as seriously as any other and his performance enhanced the film.

The humor in this one is not side splitting but it works. They could have hit us over the head with tired, old-timer gags but they were smart and didn't really go that route in this sequel. Overall, I have seen far, far worse in this genre.

Just remember this is an over-the-top kind of movie. It's not even close to a typical action comedy. This one has more unbelievable fights, gunfire, chases and general absurdities than five garden variety action flicks combined. I usually don't like super-action movies with nothing but explosions and bullets every two seconds, but in this film the action works and the light comedy keeps pace with it.

Watch Red 2 when you want to shut down your brain for a little while and relax with some good old American, explosive, violent, unapologetic, save-the-world, comedic entertainment.