RED Reviews

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but with such a cast, I really had to watch it at some point. Eventually, it was a decent action flick, no less and no more than that. There was indeed a great cast (Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Morgan Freeman, Ernest Borgnine, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfuss) and they all seemed to have a lot of fun with this concept. There were also some decent action scenes and I really enjoyed a few scenes with some witty dialogues. Still, who am I kidding? It was nothing amazing though. Indeed, the plot was rather disappointing and really pedestrian and it felt as if the makers stop caring about developing the concept beyond then 'Ok, let's get some old actors together who would be some retired top spies'. Eventually, even though the material was pretty cool and the cast was quite awesome, there was a certain laziness to the whole endeavor and that's too bad since it could have been much better than this. Eventually, they of course had to come up with a sequel but it turned out to be a flop which was hardly surprising. Still, I had a good time watching this movie, I was entertained throughout the whole thing and I think it is definitely worth a look but don't expect anything really amazing.

My expectations for RED were really high after a very satisfying trailer and unfortunately at the time, I didn't manage to check it out at the cinema. However, when it was released on DVD, I watched it and, quite frankly, I was pretty disappointed by it especially with its great trailer. Why? Well, I think the main reason is I couldn't fully understand why the five of them were being attacked in the first place. Also, you really would expect something badass out of this film with such a great cast and the fact it is about middle-age to elderly people coming out of retirement and are 'extremely dangerous' as suggested in the film, it just didn't work! Also, the fact that the trailer showed loads of action as well as dialogue and the film itself didn't show either of those all that much, it just failed.


Over the years, we have seen films that do have pretty awesome trailers but the film themselves became major disappointments (The International, Body Of Lies and Quantum Of Solace are examples) and they just have to include the best bits in the trailers, don't they? Just really gets on my nerves! I mean, there was action involved, yes, but none of it was crucial, gripping or even entertaining for that matter! I mean, the first 15 minutes were quite good but after then, (shockingly from when John Malkovich came into it (not because I don't like him)) the film really went downfall after that part. Another thing I really do not understand is how this is classed as a comedy because there is literally nothing funny about it at all so how this was nominated Best Picture Musical/Comedy at the Golden Globes instead of Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and Four Lions, I will never know.


Frank (Willis) is retired, bored and lonely living off his government pension in a nondescript suburb in an equally nondescript house. The only joys in Frank’s life are his calls to the government pension processing centre when he gets to talk to his case worker Sarah (Parker). Sarah is as bored and lonely as Frank and marks her conversations with the unknown Frank and her spy novels as the only things fun in her life. When something in Frank's past forces Frank back into his old line of work and puts an unwitting Sarah in the middle of the intrigue, Frank and Sarah begin a journey into Franks past and the people he used to work with. Like Frank they are all RED ... Retired Extremely Dangerous.


RED certainly does have an absolutely fantastic cast. In fact, I think the cast selection is the best thing about the entire film. First off, Bruce Willis is in another action film? Now that makes a change doesn't it? (NOT!) We do see many actors who play a similar kind of character in almost every film he or she has ever done (Michael Cera and Jason Statham are examples), but unfortunately it really doesn't work with Bruce Willis especially in the action genre because, quite frankly, most action films like this aren't that much different. I am not saying that Bruce was awful in this film, he just didn't entirely satisfy like he has done in the past. John Malkovich is one fantastic actor and is perhaps one of the most underrated actors of all time and I would say he was the best actor in the film. I do normally like him in films like this (mostly black comedies) but he wasn't exactly amazing in this like I was expecting. Mary Louise-Parker was incredibly annoying in this film and I actually wish her character was killed off! Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren weren't in the film half as much as I was expecting like the trailer suggested so that is another reason why I was so disappointed by RED.


RED happened to be directed by the same person who made Flightplan and The Time Traveller's Wife so I guess expectations on direction were rather high too. This was perhaps the worst directed of the three major films that he has done and is the cheesiest in terms of screenplay, character development and everything! Pretty much all of the action scenes were quite boring shockingly and it almost felt the direction was clueless. Admittedly, the screenplay wasn't all bad seeing as there were a few good punch-lines involved that did make me chuckle on occasions. However, there were quite a few bad moments within the script.


Overall, RED is a major disappointment that is easily forgettable and cannot understand all the positive reception that it received. Admittedly, I wanted to like it but I really couldn't bring myself to because of all of the deep flaws it had. It may have a rather impressive cast but even that didn't save the film although it is the best quality that the film has. If you're looking for lots of action and badass characters, you simple will not get that from RED. What you will get, though, is a ridiculous story with quite a few plot holes, weak character development and quite weak direction. It's just not entertaining at all.

Somewhat weak plot, but the cast saves it. Malkovich is a monster, as ever!

Awesome,awesome, awesome. This movie was so funny. I recommend it to everyone who want to laugh and see some action at the same time. Awesome.

"Some thumb-sucker tagged him RED - Retired, Extremely Dangerous."

It must not have been difficult to obtain the green light for 2010's Red. All the correct elements for a lively, successful action-comedy were in place - it's based on a graphic novel, and the cast is comprised of a number of excellent actors who are now in their autumnal years. The cast is by far the biggest selling point of the enterprise, but this half-hearted action-comedy merely proves that even Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Karl Urban, Ernest Borgnine and Richard Dreyfuss cannot enliven an incredibly substandard screenplay and a boring storyline. Despite the cast, director Robert Schwentke (Flightplan) infused Red with an appalling sense of kinetic movement - the film alternates between stale, static dialogue scenes and hyper-stylised action set-pieces. With boredom perpetually setting in between the sprays of bullets, the film is forgettable and underwhelming.

Retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses (Willis) is having trouble adapting to his new mundane lifestyle in the suburbs of Cleveland. The best thing in his life is a phone relationship with Sarah (Parker), a daydreaming government employee. When a hit squad attacks Frank's home and attempts to assassinate him, he realises that something is afoot, and slips back into action in order to investigate. After picking up Sarah to protect her, Frank's investigation leads to him discovering that there's a special list targeting him for assassination. For assistance in cracking the mystery, Frank recruits his old pals Joe (Freeman), Victoria (Mirren), and Marvin (Malkovich). Assigned to hunt Frank down is CIA agent William Cooper (Urban), who soon learns of Frank's RED status, or "Retired, Extremely Dangerous". Eventually the convoluted plot ends up involving the United States Vice President (McMahon) and a rich industrialist (Dreyfuss).

Based on Warren Ellis' comic book series, Red is hindered by an unnecessarily convoluted plotline filled with betrayals, conspiracies and assassinations. Evidently this confused director Schwentke, who was visibly keen to liven things up during the action scenes but was unaware of how to handle the clunky story which he had to tend to before the serious bloodshed could commence. Unfortunately, the screenplay is not as limber or lively as Schwentke would like, and the result is a motion picture that succeeds in the surface details but is a ponderous bore in terms of suspense and intrigue. Red simply limps along, with Schwentke unable to grapple with the tonal shifts or inject requisite energy into the dialogue scenes. Humour beats are generally held too long and feel out-of-place, while actors such as Dreyfuss and Malkovich appear to be given free reign to mug as much as they like. When it wants to be, Red is fun enough, and it certainly has its moment from time to time. It's therefore unfortunate that there's far too much narrative flab and not nearly enough action, wit or energy.

To the credit of the makers behind Red, the film begins with promise. It opens with an interesting examination of Frank's struggle to settle down into a suburban lifestyle after years of dedicating himself to his profession. Screenwriters Joe and Erich Hoeber afforded a welcome sense of humour to these early scenes, and the phone flirtations between Frank and Sarah are pleasant enough. Had the script continued to concentrate on Frank and Sarah's relationship once their lives come under fire, Red might have proved to be something special. Instead, the interplay fades into the background as the humdrum story takes centre stage and the supporting characters are introduced. And the larger the story gets, the further it drifts from the good stuff. It's hardly surprising that the script is so anaemic, flat and disjointed, as Joe and Erich Hoeber were also responsible for the woefully inert 2009 actioner Whiteout.

Bruce Willis was clearly on autopilot in the lead role of Frank Moses. Willis adopted his typical screen persona, but his work is distinctly dry - he seems uninterested, and there are not nearly enough one-liners for Willis to disperse. In fact, the star's cameo appearance in The Expendables, which amounted to five minutes, had more worthwhile humour. Also in the film for the pay-cheques are Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren, whose roles are strictly one-dimensional. John Malkovich appears to be playing an extension of his role from Burn After Reading, but he was tragically restricted by the PG-13 rating which forbade extensive profanity. Mary-Louise Parker, meanwhile, is amiable enough. However, the less said about the remainder of the cast, the better - even Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox are boring. Urban is compelling enough, but he does not truly own the role - he's very interchangeable.

Red is long-winded, predictable, conventional and monotonous. It's also irretrievably neutered due to the PG-13 rating - it constantly feels as if the film is pulling punches, with awkward cutaways to avoid capturing bloodshed, and people just dropping to the ground without any discernible bullet-wounds. With the freedom of an R-rating (the picture was produced for a mere $50 million, after all), Red could have been superior - if ever so slightly. But this is half the problem. The other half is the lack of sparkling wit in the screenplay. With all intrigue having faded by the third act, the film becomes a sluggish chore which takes too long to reach its climax. The action beats are at times enjoyable, but there are too many potholes in the pace to justify seeing the film in its entirety.

3.8/10

A very enjoyable movie for any action fan or fan of the numerous stars in it.