Plot: Someone is trying to kill ex-CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), and threatening to kill the girl he has been stalking, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker.) Sarah eventually learns to like Frank because he prevents her from getting shot. Frank hooks up with old friends Joe (Morgan Freeman,) Marvin (John Malkovich,) and Victoria (Helen Mirren.) They take on CIA bad guys, arms manufacturers (Richard Dreyfus,) and politicians.
Review: The plot is a rehash of a dozen movies like A-Team and Rambo 3 where old guys get together and fight for justice. RED keeps moving helped by the support cast which was very strong including Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Richard Dreyfus, and especially Helen Mirren. Helen delivered some great lines that were fun to watch; sadly she was not in the movie that much.
Head tough-guy Frank/Bruce Willis is not interesting or likeable enough, and he is the weak point of the movie.
I liked Marvin's paranoid rants that turned out to be just what the NSA was doing to find them. That was pretty funny and decent political commentary at the same time.
The special effects were solid and good enough -- not as great we see routinely summer blockbusters. The end of the movie was clever, and I liked that. I did not care for the post card motif -- perhaps this is borrowed from the comic book.
This is almost a comedy because the shooting isn't realistic, and few people actually die. These people can't seem to hit anything with their automatic weapons.
Excellent soundtrack by Christophe Beck -- I've already bought two tracks: Radical Early Discovery and Ruined Election Dinner. I am toying with buying album.
Cast: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfus
Directed by: Rober Schwentke; based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner
Rating: 2.5 stars; this was better than I thought it would be. It might be a 3.0 for people who like Bruce Willis more than I do. Also I did not like the stalker/kidnapping episode --see the Even More bullet below.
More: Gotta love Helen Mirren with a machine gun -- the best part.
Even More: I don't like how Sarah eventually learns to like her stalker and kidnapper Frank. Showing the hero capturing a girl who then learns to love him only encourages sexual violence. Strange how I forgive a movie full of shooting, and object to the kidnapping -- but to me this is worse.
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