Movies Reviews

Red – Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Oct 14, 2010, 14:53 GMT

RED is an explosive action-comedy starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIA\'s top agents - but the secrets they know just made them the Agency\'s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their ...more

Retired.  Extremely Dangerous.  RED. 

Red is the coolest installment in the ages old battle between old and young, experience and wanna-be-ism, and pure against -the-tide rebellion. 

Red is jammed with sly pokes at the young as it celebrates elder hipsterism and competence, and in this market, in these times, it’s really risky.  Fortunately, it is a grand slam. 

Red is a treat – an anti-popular wisdom action film for oldies, about oldies, in which the enemy is the ruthlessly ambitious but green “thumb sucker”.  So says Ernest Borgnine’s character, the keeper of the official stories, he’s seen it all and he knows.

Like The Losers and The Expendables before it, Red gives fuller definition to a new breed of action film, a new genre within a genre, of back to basics, barebones filmmaking with an all-star cast dead set on missions to right the wrongs of international bad asses. 

They’re in the professional killing business and they’ve loved every second of it.  Protags are retired or ready to be after “one last job” and not averse to traveling the world in pursuit of dastardly villains.

And what a cast – Bruce Willis, in slippers and TV retirement, Morgan Freeman, a former intelligence genius glued to the retirement home TV, John Malkovich, off the rails, permanently damaged by daily lysergic acid use and as snarky as  he is an effective assassin. 

Mary Louise Parker is ditzy, but unexpectedly appealing as an ordinary working girl who wins the lottery of excitement by getting to tag along with Willis and his cronies.  He may have kidnapped her, and the Stockholm syndrome has set in, but it has all somehow brought her to life again.

But when they talk about this film, and they will, it will be about Helen Mirren, gowned and bejeweled, firing heavy weaponry bigger than she is, and looking like a million bucks.  Is there nothing this grand dame can’t do? 

She is the gorgeous poster elder for pension age sexuality and intrigue, clever, strategic, bigger than life. Some may never recover from this amazing collision of genre violence and unfailing majesty! 

Schwentke’s vision for a new kind of action film is fully realized and yet he keeps a light touch.  He provides interesting cinematic choices, without much green screen CGI to keep it honest and accessible, and a fresh takes on characterization, removing it entirely from the limited arena of traditional action heroes.  It’s supple and extremely well-paced, moving like mercury through glass.

They don’t make them like that anymore, to quote Ernest Borgnine’s records keeper.  More truthfully, they never did, and it took a lot of heart to move into these uncharted territories.  Ageing will never look the same again in the movies at least.  And youngsters will be smitten too.

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35mm action adventure
Written by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Warren Ellis, Cully Hamner
Directed by Robert Schwentke
Opens: Oct 15
Runtime: 111 minutes
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language
Country: USA
Language: English