Monday, November 8, 2010

RED


I'm beginning this post with a question. Who is in their seventies , sports a dodgy burgundy velour tracksuit and still manages to be sexier than most actors of any age today? Answer at the bottom of the page. Now on with the review. Bruce Willis plays Frank he's the titular RED (retired and extremely dangerous) from the CIA. He's also bored and lonely and strikes up a phone relationship with Sarah (Mary Louise Parker) who works for his pension company. When Frank's home is invaded by a mass of dead shot killers one night (although not dead shot enough to actually kill him, naturally) he enlists the help of his old work buddies to solve this political conundrum. Along for the ride is Sarah, whom Frank kidnaps to save her from the evil clutches of the Government. The old work buddies are his majesty Morgan Freeman, the reliably crazy and generous John Malkovitch, HRH Helen Mirren, sexy and charming as usual, and British stalwart but lesser known in the US, Brian Cox. The villainous scene chewing baddies are evil leprechaun Richard Dreyfuss and a simpering, cowardly Julian McMahon. The mayhem is followed by a super cool ice man CIA agent Karl Urban, (slightly reminiscent of Brad Pitt in looks) determined to stop Frank at all costs. The adventure that ensues is really great fun. It's full of ridiculous cartoon violence and John Malkovich is hilarious as the paranoid Marvin Boggs, though he's usually correct in his assumptions. The reviews for this movie aren't great, but honestly what do people expect? It's a real delight to see older actors having a really fabulous time camping it up on screen being tough guys. It's all tongue in cheek and there are some brilliant one liners. Bruce Willis is great, he's always had a lot of charisma, even if he can really only play one role, he does it well. If you want a rip roaring two hours of suspended belief, look no further than RED. Watch out for a spritely Ernest Borgnine as well. Answer: Morgan Freeman of course dreeeeammy! RED: Better RED than dead. 7/10.

1 comment:

  1. Ok, ok, I'll see it!! I love all these actors, age does not change that one iota! Another great review xoxo

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