RED

Red manages to balance the line between action thriller, and light comedy, and does it quite well.

Frank Moses(Bruce Willis) a former C.I.A. agent is now retired, and living a simply, and at times boring life. His only joy of the day when he calls Sarah(Mary Louise Parker) a customer service agent, who he likes, Frank pretends not to get a monthly check, just an excuse to talk to her. But Franks simply life is interrupted, when he learns that somebody has put hit on his life, he goes on the run, after escaping an attempt on his life. He takes Sarah along too, much to her dismay. And gets his old team back together(Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich) in hopes to uncover who is behind the hits, but will they before it's too late?

I really don't agree with the critics on this one. Red was entertaining. It's funny without trying to get overly silly. Action scenes where good. Bruce Willis, Mary Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, Richard Dreyfuss, Brian Cox, and Morgan Freeman. But it's John Malkovich who steals the show, with his funny one liners. And also a great co starring role by veteran actor Ernest Borgnine.

I love it when I watch a movie and the cast seems to be having loads of fun in it, and with a cast like this one, it is really fun to watch. Red isn't revolutionary by any means, but it has the feeling of being very rewatchable for me. I throughly enjoyed the great special effects and the over the top, but still fun action. Red is the definition of a fun film to watch, but it doesn't quite live up to what it could be, still a very good time though

Silly is the operative word but also very entertaining. What did it for me was the cast. Helen Mirren lifts whatever she is in and the endearing thing about her is that she's not "precious" She goes for it and her fun becomes our fun. Hurrah for that! To go into the plot seems an exercise in futility because that's not what we will enjoy particularly but Mirren holding a machine gun with relish, the wonderful Mary Louise Parker tied to a bed or Brian Cox with a Russian accent and a mischievous spark in his eye. John Malkovich, I hope he soon plays a woman, he would be marvelous as Edna in "The Edna May Oliver Story" He is such fun to watch. Bruce Willis can do this kind of film in his sleep and he kind of does and Morgan Freeman? Well, he's always worth the trouble. The film has already vanished from my brain but the cast is glorious.

You're wrinkly, have health issues and your age is higher than the calibre of your gun. So what's a senior to do? Why get a bigger gun of course. That is certainly one of many philosophies in the action comedy RED (That would be Retired Extremely Dangerous for those still living in fear of Communism. Hey, it is the right age bracket) which collects a who's who of Oscar-grade talent and has them blow stuff up real good. This is but the fourth men-on-a-mission film so far this year after The Expendables, The A-Team and The Losers, heck even Inception could fall into that group. The good news is with the exception of the latter it is the best of the bunch and by far the most fun you're bound to have this fall season.

Now onto the CIA. I don't know what they're dipping their dirty little fingers into Stateside but in addition to being at the center of some ticked off senior's attention in RED, they have been the villains in aforementioned The Losers and The A-Team as well as Salt and Knight & Day. Talk about your need for homeland security, they had better keep one of those high-tech satellites over Hollywood. At the receiving end of the Central Intelligence Agency's scope are a band of former operatives including the "kid" of the group, Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), the ailing Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), the brain-fried eccentric, Marvin Boggs (John Malcovich) and the sultry heartbreaker, Victoria (Helen Mirren). Brian Cox also shows up as a Ruskie who may or may not have been previously shot by one of the former. Though not having seen action in a good decade, they have been deemed "RED" by an unknown force, which means curtains for this rag-tag bunch of geriatrics.

The cast truly is great in RED, and I don't simply mean the actors in general; they simply all give full-on great, funny performances. The subtle (but hilarious) underlying lament of these characters is they all reminisce over their past lives as hardened assassins and pine just to kill one more little ol' person. More at the forefront of course is the bang-on wry humour and delicious action sequences. This is old fashion stunt work at play here (fittingly perhaps) and I'll take it over a green screen any day. These bursts of adrenaline are dumb to be sure, but not totally ludicrous; think of a cross between Die Hard and Enemy of the State. What they are not is anything short of exciting and kinetic, and are interspersed with laughs in such a way as to not drift to one focus too long. RED also gleefully embraces its comic book origins, using playful transitions as the globe-trotting commences. Yet again, director Robert Schwentke never revels in one gimmick for too long and the film goes down smooth and easy as a result.

The younger cast is more than worth mentioning as well, with the highest accolades going to Mary-Louis Parker from TV's Weeds. There is a joke in RED which I am not sure was intentioned, when after being injected with a knockout-drug, Parker's Sarah exclaims "I'm so high". She steals most scenes when given the chance but her character (a love interest of Frank who unintentionally gets caught up in the fracas) is utilized far more towards the beginning of the film. Karl Urban is also solid as a CIA operative tasked in finding the RED's but becomes suspicious at his orders which grow increasingly corrupt. I always wonder in the movie world how they would explain attack helicopters shredding an airport to the general public. The government must have some amazing PR agents on staff. Richard Dreyfus (in his second cameo of the year after Piranha) is also well used as an oily arms dealer who comes across the team's path.

Summit Entertainment is pulling out all the marketing stops for this film, and I am happy to report the results seem to be worth the glamour. While venturing through my theatres ticket checkpoint they stamped my stub "confidential" instead of ripping it, and a squad of agents clad in sunglasses and suits patrolled the lobby. The showing seemed to be a generous mix of old and new patrons and that really comes as no surprise. Even though the majority of the cast has long breached 60, these are actors generations of all ages still admire. Even if they are not the draws they once were (some of them never were) this is a great example of people showing up to see actors, performers, and not special effects. RED may be imperfect, it may not even be particularly fresh, but it exudes something movies lack far too often: fun.

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When Bruce Willis plays his indestructible yet on the surface everyday guy he is right where the audience loves him. In RED, "Retired Extremely Dangerous", he has a close to perfect vehicle. And, so RED delivers in spite of a fairly ridiculous scenario of a group of ex-CIA operatives,or which Willis is one, being singled out for execution on the eve of the vice-president announcing his candidacy for president.

We get the message from the first that Willis is somewhat lonely and bored with retirement and is searching for a companion to make his new life matter. He isn't aching to get back to fast track, but is venerable and is fixated on a kind and cheery voice on the other end of the phone line when he complains about not getting his pension checks (he tears them up just to talk to his "handler"). He arranges a meeting with the sweet sounding gal just prior to everything falling apart because the CIA sends in a "wet" team to erase him. As suspected the CIA, as well as most all the resources of the government, are not up to the task.

Willis reassembles his old team, all in his age bracket or older, in order to survive. That team, if not on the surface a formidable threat, is pure cinematic gold as it consists of excellent performances by Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren. It is almost impossible not to like this film because of the wonderfully entertaining supporting cast. In fact Malkovich steals the show providing the correct dosage of crazed comic relief. This leads to impossible feats making for deliciously served up entertainment; all with a "nod-and-a-wink" that cuts through the unbelievable. Great action with comedy! Richard Dreyfus turns in a solid performance as a spoiled smart-ass (uber-wealthy and powerful) arms dealer who pulls strings behind the scenes. And, Ernest Borgnine has a cameo role which is memorable.

It's a character driven action comedy that truly is RED (ridiculous, entertaining, delightful). This movie gets a 7.5 and, as such, is hard to fault in spite of being pure light-weight fluff. See it and smile.