LIHU‘E — He’s called “grandpa,” but man can he kick some butt and take some names. And that’s just Bruce Willis’ character. Add to this special agent the prowess and talent of three other aging (but-revered) actors to the scene
LIHU‘E — He’s called “grandpa,” but man can he kick some butt and take some names. And that’s just Bruce Willis’ character.
Add to this special agent the prowess and talent of three other aging (but-revered) actors to the scene and “RED” (which stands for CIA agents who are “Retired, Extremely Dangerous”) is nothing but humorous, fast-paced cinematic gold.
Based on a Warren Ellis comic book, “RED” could very easily have been replete with cheesiness given its premise of aging spy heroes taking to the streets. Yet it’s not cheesy, and it delivers the kind of wit and clever plotline that makes it an engaging film. Willis (Frank Moses), who happens to be falling in love with his pension caseworker, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), is content with his slow-paced life. But as it turns out, life has other plans for him. A retired CIA black-ops agent, Moses is pulled out of retirement thanks to a failed attempt to assassinate him. And when he enlists the help of three former colleagues to help him figure out who is trying to kill him, it feels like an all-star cast reunion, which is what makes this movie so much fun.
Special agent colleagues Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich (especially) inhabit the kind of still-got-it wit we have come to love and expect from them. Add to the mix the likes of Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss and Ernest Borgnine, and there’s a certain levity and familiarity that makes this a film to see more than once — nay, more than twice.
Turns out Moses is on a hit list for having been witness to a scandal some 20 odd years ago, and is being hunted by CIA Agent William Cooper (Karl Urban). But he’s not really taking it too hard. Moses keeps that Willis-esque smirk on his face throughout the film, and we get the sense everything is going to work out to his advantage. The only thing that has gone wrong is the fact that his new girlfriend, Ross, is the only one among the bunch lacking any sort of hired-gun skills. But that’s OK. Moses has her back. And so does Mirren’s character, Victoria, and Malkovich’s character, Marvin Boggs. In fact, Mirren and Malkovich are bad asses in their own right. And super-duper likeable. And funny.
Not to mention they’ve got a ton of tricks up their sleeves, along with a ton of AK-47s, sniper rifles, rocket missiles and grenades, making for several over-the-top desensitized scenes that add to the movie’s comic-book, 007-like effect.
Malkovich is hilarious as an at-first-seemingly paranoid former CIA agent who turns out to not be so paranoid, but rather CIA savvy. We cringe when we see him pull out a gun from a stuffed animal pig and accuse a very matronly looking woman of being a spy for the government. Turns out he was right about her, and satellites, cell phones, heat-sensing helicopters and just about everything else.
Mirren, in one word, is awesome. At 65, she’s believable as a holster-carrying and lipstick-wearing sniper maven who still breaks hearts.
Overall, if the key to an entertaining movie with a cast of several over-50-year-olds is to base it loosely on a comic book and create characters so likeable we want to root for each one of them, then “RED” is one to see and enjoy.
