If you saw the movie RED then you know the amount of fun
there was to be had in the story of a retired CIA agent designated as RED or
Retired Extremely Dangerous. Bruce Willis in the title role of Frank Moses
carried the part of with perfection as did his fantastic supporting cast. With
the exception of Morgan Freeman they all return for this sequel that, like most
sequels, doesn't quite live up to the original but still offers a good night at
the movies.
This time around Moses and his now girlfriend Sarah
(Mary-Louise Parker) are settling into being a mundane average couple which he
relishes but bores her to tears. One day at Costco they're approached by ex-spy
Marvin (John Malkovich) who tells them he needs their help. Not wanting to put Sarah
into harms way Frank turns him down only to see him blown up moments later.
But Frank isn't convinced that he's actually been killed and
rightly so. When a group of agents captures Frank for an interrogation it is
Marvin who rescues him. Not long after their friend Victoria (Helen Mirren)
calls to let them know that MI-6 has given her a contract to kill her and the
US has given the same contract to old foe Han (Byung-hun Lee). On the road the
threesome do their own form of interrogation and discover that an old project
they were involved in back in the seventies has spy agencies all over trying to
track them down. Word has leaked they know something they don't and now the
only way to survive is to find that information.
Their search takes them around the world beginning in Paris
where they run into Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones). A top Russian spy she was
often the weakness that Frank fell for. Whether she is there to help or hinder
the group slowly unveils itself. In any event she puts Frank and Sarah at odds
as any old flame would if she suddenly showed.
Eventually the group discovers that the project they were a
part of involved a nuclear device that was smuggled in to Russia during the
Cold War. Now it seems someone is trying to track down the device and activate
it or at least take possession of it to use elsewhere. Just who is behind it
all gets confusing at times and the end result isn't something you see coming
at first.
Included this time around is Anthony Hopkins as Bailey, the
weapons designer who created the bomb in the first place. His character offers
some comic relief as he seems to be either out of his mind or heavily drugged
by his captors. Either way he gives a new character some life that is up to the
standards set by the rest of the cast.
While the movie offers less reality and tends to offer
action along the lines of it's original format (i.e. a comic book), it doesn't
matter. What it offers is spectacular entertainment from start to finish. The
only thing that slows this film down is the constant jump from one country to
another but each country they visit offers more obstacles to overcome which
they do in grand scale.
There isn't a bad performance in this film. Standing out is
Malkovich as Marvin. Malkovich is known more for his performance in heavier
material but does a tremendous job being the comic foil to Willis' hard knocks
hero. The only thing I was disappointed in was the parts offered Miller and
Mirren. Both seem underused here but then maybe that's just my perspective.
All in all this is a fun movie that you can enjoy with a big
bowl of popcorn. Just sit back and go for the ride, have some fun. I'm not sure
yet if I would qualify this one to sit on the shelf in my collection but it is
well worth watching.
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