A former black-ops agent reassembles his old team to fight against a high-tech assassin...
Margaret: 
David:
Red
Rated M
Review by David Stratton
Frank Morgan, BRUCE WILLIS, is a retired CIA operative who's become attracted to Sarah Ross, MARY-LOUISE PARKER, who works in an office handling pension payments - attracted to her voice, that is, because they haven't yet met. After his home is raided by armed men who literally shoot it to bits, Frank travels to Cleveland to meet Sarah.
Before long, Frank and Sarah are on the run from the inevitable collection of bad guys, and they're joined by some of his former colleagues, including wise Joe, MORGAN FREEMAN, crazy Marvin, JOHN MALKOVICH, and regal Victoria, HELEN MIRREN, who easily keeps up with the boys.
Add to this already busy mix former Russian spy Ivan, BRIAN COX, and villains played by JULIAN MCMAHON, KARL URBAN and RICHARD DREYFUSS, and you have a very hectic action movie. RED - the title is derived from 'Retired and Extremely Dangerous', Frank's description within the CIA - could never be called in the least bit original; this seems to be the year for films like THE EXPENDABLES, THE A-TEAM and THE LOSERS in which former action heroes come out of retirement.
What makes RED more enjoyable than most is the wonderfully diverse cast - it's great to see Helen Mirren handling firearms with such aplomb, or Ernest Borgnine, at the age of 93, cropping up as the keeper of the CIA filing system. With its self-deprecating humour, and a hilarious performance from Malkovich, the film - though it never makes the least bit of sense - is easy to take, and there are a few snappy lines of dialogue, too.
Director Robert Schwentke, who previously made FLIGHT PLAN and THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, was clearly having a ball.
Further comments
DAVID: Margaret?
MARGARET: And so were all the actors.
DAVID: Yes.
MARGARET: I think that's what it looks like: they're having fun in this.
DAVID: I think they all had fun. Did you have fun?
MARGARET: I did have fun. I think it is - it's not a great movie...
DAVID: No, right.
MARGARET: ...but it's an enjoyable one.
DAVID: Yes, it's silly but it's fun.
MARGARET: Well, the plot makes absolutely no sense at all.
DAVID: No.
MARGARET: But the amazing thing about this film is that combination of cast that really gets it together. And Bruce Willis really made his name, particularly, I remember, in that television series MOONLIGHTING, I think it was, playing that sort of very laconic character in which there's a lot of humour in the performance and he's good at it. He's carried it through a number of roles and he's sort of brought it back in this and I think it works. Look it is funny. I think it's just like lurching from one major action scene to the next.
DAVID: Yes, that's right.
MARGARET: And they're all highly improbable.
DAVID: Yes, absolutely.
MARGARET: But the moment that his house is blown up to such an overkill, you know that this is not going to be the most subtle of movies. I'm giving it three and a half stars.
DAVID: I just love Helen Mirren in it, I must say.
MARGARET: Yes, she's great, isn't she?
DAVID: I'm giving it three and a half, too.
