Red (Special Edition) [DVD]

I know movies can be considered an art form, a way to make a social/political statement, and/or a means of experimenting with style and content. But let's face it -- many of us go to the movies not to be educated or culturally refined, but to be entertained. I know I've enjoyed my share of brainless but fun blockbusters, such as the "Transformers" film series and the "A-Team" movie, and will gladly choose a Pixar or Disney movie over a more "arty" foreign film. There are wonderful, art-worthy Oscar contenders that I will probably never watch again, simply because though I acknowledge they are good, they just weren't fun, while less artistically impressive movies will become a hit with me because of how much I enjoyed myself watching them."RED" is not an Oscar contender, and has absolutely no pretense of making a statement or considering itself high art. But it's a blast nonetheless.(For the record -- no, I have not read the comic series this is based on, so I'm judging the film solely on its own merits.)Frank Moses is a "RED" (Retired, Extremely Dangerous) CIA agent, trying to grow accustomed to a quiet civilian life and having slightly flirty phone conversations with Sarah, the customer service agent at his pension office. His attempts to relax and enjoy retirement are shattered when a hit squad attacks his house one night, sending him on the run. With a rather reluctant Sarah in tow, he makes a cross-country trip to round up his old CIA buddies -- Joe, terminally ill but still kicking; Marvin, paranoid and deliciously crazy; Victoria, an elegant and soft-spoken "wetwork" agent; and ex-Russian secret agent Ivan. As they put together the pieces and discover their team is being hunted down due to their connection with a military disaster in Guatemala, Frank is being pursued by young CIA agent and family man William Cooper, who follows orders with chilling precision but is seemingly unaware that he's being used as a tool by higher forces...By far the best part of this film is the cast, containing such heavy hitters as Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Richard Dreyfuss. All of them look like they're having an absolute blast making this movie, and sling hot lead and sharp one-liners with equal zest. John Malkovich chews quite a bit of scenery as Marvin, easily making him one of the funniest characters in the film, and Helen Mirren shines as Victoria, obviously having fun being a proper lady with a machine gun. Richard Dreyfuss has only a few scenes as a smirky weapons dealer, but he hams it up enough that he's quite memorable. Morgan Freeman plays against type as Joe and has relatively few scenes for being one of the top-credited names, and Bruce Willis seems to be running mostly on autopilot as Frank Moses, but they're still both fun to watch and have some good lines. Mary-Louis Parker is sweet and spunky as Sarah, and Karl Urban (probably best known for "Star Trek") is mostly playing straight man to the rest of the crew as Cooper, but does his job well enough that I can see him carrying a "Bourne" style action series on his own.The film operates solely on "Rule of Cool," eschewing realism for over-the-top explosions and loads of gunfire and fist-swinging action. I don't particularly mind this, as I was enjoying the ride too much to nitpick at any errors. This film knows what it is, and never has any pretense at art or high-minded storytelling. The downside is that the plot tends to fall by the wayside in favor of fight and shoot-out scenes, but there's a good deal of humor, character development, and even a sweet romance to make up for any deficiencies in the plot.Very fun and entertaining action flick, with good actors and memorable jokes and scenes carrying the movie quite well despite the fairly weak plot. If you want a fun action flick, "RED" is a good choice, with something for just about everybody. It's not going to win any awards, but it's sure going to entertain you.P.S. There's talk of a sequel... and reportedly when Helen Mirren was asked what it would take to get her into the sequel, she said "just send me a script." I can only hope something good comes of this... :D

I love action flicks. What's even better about "Red" as an action flick is its cast. And this is not just any cast, but one filled only with retirement age actors (well, maybe Bruce Willis isn't quite there, but he acts as if he is). OK, maybe Mary Louise Parker isn't quite there either, but she's also excellent as Willis's love interest.So, what's to like about an action flick starring old actors? (When one is the same age as the actors, one is allowed to call them old.)1. Humor in an action flick? Yeah, it's been done for years--Clint Eastwood and Schwarzenegger with their punchy one-liners. This time Morgan Freeman gets the line: "We're getting the band back together." It was funny in the television promos--it's even funnier in context. Ms Parker expresses her extreme displeasure with the Willis characther--with her mouth duct-taped! While the viewer may not know the exact words behind her anger, her meaning is quite clear. It's an excellent delivery complete with facial expressions and perfect comedic timing.2. Romance. Willis and Parker? Yes, and the actors make it work even though he is retired R-E-D (retired, extremely dangerous) and she is a seemingly mild-mannered, cubicle-retirement clerk. However, in their conversations together he learns the way to divine her heart. He reads all the romance novels she reads. She also has a true hankering to travel to exotic places. When she tells him she wants to go to Chile, he says he's been there. The thing with his travels is the reason and the time, often by cover of night and to relieve someone of his ugly, hateful life. He's been to Chile, but hasn't experienced Chile.3. Larger than life characters.Freeman has participated in Vietnam and Afghanistan and now is 80 years old (is Freeman really that old?) and living in a nice retirement home with his dose of excitement gained from eyeballing a beautiful, young aid's gluts. He also has stage four liver cancer.Helen Mirren as the lovely, refined mistress of a country estate, filling her hours with baking and flower arranging--and the occasional hit. As she tells Ms Parker: "I kill people."Karl Urban plays the adversary--a deep CIA special ops hit man. His job is to eliminate Willis's character. The reasons are eventually revealed and they are a doozy.John Malkovich plays an over-the-top paranoid, well, an Oliver Stone type. But Malkovich is hilarious, especially showing his pleasure at Willis's storage facility filled with weapons and munitions of extreme measures.3. An expose of the great and secret powers of the CIA. Ernest Borgnine's character and his job and its location and purpose are prime examples. But there's more.4. Weapons galore! Fun with weapons! An example: one soldier shoots a grenade at Malkovich who uses his weapon to bat it back to the soldier who then is blown up. A fierce, red-headed, female agent calls Malkovich Grandpa. He must show her what "grandpas" can do. She shoots a small missile at him--he shoots a bullet from a handgun directly into the center of that missile, causing blow back of the explosion and getting rid of that potty mouth agent (older people don't like being reminded of their age!)5. A serious message amid all the shenanigans: the abuse of power in whatever place for whatever reason. Richard Dreyfus plays--with great flair--a powerful villain and how his power has distorted whatever tenuous connection he may have with the human race.6. Quirkiness (but I suppose part of the humor)--Mirren wears a lovely, long white evening gown to a presidential party bid. Later Malkovich gives her a pair of combat boots to wear for their role in taking down the powerfully corrupt. Just a little quirky! Malkovich's house is inside a car. Let me rephrase. One enters his dwelling through the trunk. That's all I'll say.7. I could put Brian Cox in any category. As a retired Soviet spy who hasn't killed anyone in years, he is almost a scene stealer.What a fun, fun movie (despite the various forms of violence). There's only one kiss, no, make that two (Freeman gets one) and just a few I love you's, giving this action flick a touch of heart.

Just a fun action film with a stunning cast of top-ranked actors. It’s worth it just to see Helen Mirren in an action hero role!

One of Bruce's best.

I got a kick out of this film. Now I admit that I'm a fan of all the stars and certainly that's a big reason why I enjoyed the experience. Frankly it's why I wanted to see the film in the first place. None of them disappointed me; they all treated their roles with just enough seriousness that you never get the feeling they're standing apart and winking at the audience. And yet you know they're having fun. With a big, dumb, 'splodey movie like this ('splodey, adjective, -er, -est, Full of explosions) if the cast isn't having fun, neither is the audience.Frankly, I don't recall much of the plot. Bruce Willis has a telephone romance going with a tired, bored woman at the Social Security office (Let me pause here just to say how refreshing it was to see that his love interest wasn't some vapid young starlet, but a smart, interesting, age-appropriate woman, played by Mary Louise Parker. There is nothing bland about this cast, not even in the love department. High marks there.) He's a retired CIA operative who discovers that someone is trying to kill him. They manage to kill his house, and he decides it's time to hit the road, pick up his sweetie, who is probably in danger, and go talk to the rest of his old team, all of whom are in danger, too.The rest of the film is them trying to figure out the who and why of the problem, and they do it with real class. Really, if you're looking for some tasty mind candy, this is it.

Fun movie.