Red (2010)

Red was so ridiculously over the top that if you seriously watched it and argued for realism then you are beyond hope as an intelligent life-form (it was adapted from a graphic novel). Lovers of espionage action, this one is for you, it is within the same family of movies that is James Bond 007, Jason Bourne, Salt, and The American inhabit. It’s the fantasy version of the CIA where people can shoot RPG bullets mid-flight, walk out of spiraling cars smoothly and shake off bullets as if they were mere annoyances. The only difference however is that there is a senior citizen angle thrown in as the players in Red are supposed to be retired badasses.

Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is having a hard time fitting into civilian life after a lifetime of CIA top tier work and constant adventure. His home is plain and he keeps its appearances such as to not raise any suspicions from his neighbors. An old bachelor, he finds himself calling his pension office to hear the voice of Cynthia Wilkes (Rebecca Pidgeon), his only real connection to some sort of love interest.  One day some armed men attack him within his home and sends him back into spy mode, leading him to a reunion with some of his best partners during his heyday in order to uncover a plot that is much larger than he assumed.

The movie is plagued by a very confusing plot once it’s all realized, good thing that the action and the one-liners are cute enough to hold our attention away from this fact but it wasn’t enough to save the movie. From beginning to around mid-point it is almost a flawless waltz in the way things play themselves out but near the end something goes dreadfully wrong and as a viewer I became confused with every scene up until the end credits.

I really wished they had left the “rich guy” and his secret room out of it, as that was the cause of my confusion, it ended with me hardly knowing who he was and why he was such a major player.

Bruce Willis is himself; the ever charming, poised old schooler with a wicked trigger finger and John Malkovich did an awesome job as the paranoid, ex-agent Marvin Boggs. Mary-Louise Parker was cute and Morgan Freeman surprised me in his portrayal of the old killer Joe Matheson. Everyone was great, including Karl Urban as William Cooper but my favorite had to be the Femme Fatale Victoria (Helen Mirren) who embodied everything that makes characters like James Bond cool. Cast aside this movie was a mess, a real mess, but if it’s action you crave then you bet your ass it delivers.

Only 007/Bourne fans need apply really, the rest of the moviegoers may find this a bit too over-the-top for their palate. Still Red was an enjoyable watch that afforded me a good laugh periodically from the player’s shenanigans and the crazy out-of-this-world action situations.