Red [M]

Retirement is not easy for anyone, but for these four former CIA agents, it’s going to be murder. When Frank, Joe, Marvin, and Victoria, former CIA agents marked as “RED” (Retired Extremely Dangerous) discover that their knowledge of a government conspiracy has marked them as targets for assassination, they quickly club together to kick some serious arse.

 Like Knight and Day, only heaps more entertaining, Red is a wonderful action-packed romp with a good story, a great cast, and a healthy balance of action, romance, and comedy. It was a great film.

Retirement is not easy for anyone, but for these former CIA agents, it’s going to be murder. When Frank Moses has his house raided and then blown to smithereens, he realises that someone is out to get him. Catching up with Joe, Marvin, and Victoria, former CIA agents marked as “RED” (Retired Extremely Dangerous), Frank works out that they’re all in the same boat. Their knowledge of a past war crime conspiracy has made them targets for assassination, so the four of them club together to dish out some justice and kick the arses of those trying to kick theirs.

This was the ideal action movie. It had a perfect mix of action, gunplay, fire, and explosions and was all balanced beautifully by its lighter comedy script. Perfect for a Friday or Saturday night in. It’s a simple story to follow and has a fair amount of intrigue mixed in too. Brilliant!
The real appeal of the movie, though, lies in its wonderfully contrasting cast. The central characters or “REDs” are made up of Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich (who was absolutely hilarious), and Helen Mirren (who is a real screen glamour puss) and each one delivers a marvellous performance that plays against the others perfectly. Bruce Willis is a fidgety retiree when he’s on his own, but faced with danger he’s the calmest man you’ve ever seen. Morgan Freeman is wonderfully affectionate, wise, and lethal. John Malkovich is paranoid, trigger happy, not in the right head space, and wonderfully funny. Helen Mirren is witty, charming, and remarkably glamorous. I loved them all!
Also starring Karl Urban, Mary-Louise Parker, Richard Dreyfuss, and Julian McMahon, Red was a wonderful action romp filled with romance, explosions, gunplay, violence, action, memorable characters, and comedy. Not to mention that, during a good fight scene between Bruce Willis and Karl Urban, Aeorsmith’s Back in the Saddle is used as background music. Awesome! It really was a good film, I was thrilled, I laughed, and I just loved it!