Chris Kavan's Movie Review of Red (2010)

Red Means Go
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/11/10

Ah, the life of retirement - whether you're flirting with a pension operator, arranging flowers, enjoying the nurses at the retirement home or sitting back with a nice bottle of vodka - your daily routine becomes your life... unless the life you retired from happens to be an ultra-secret black ops organization.

That is the premise of Red (acronym of Retired, Extremely Dangerous) - after doing lord knows what for the government all these people want to do is sit back and relax, well, some take the odd job on the side, but mainly they want to relax. Too bad that a hit squad is sent in to take them out. Too bad for the hit squad, that is, as the AARP members don't take getting killed to easy.

It's fun watching some serious actors having a good time. Bruce Willis is known for action films, and even Morgan Freeman has taken an action role every now and then, but seeing Helen Mirren with a sniper rifle, machine gun and one gun that like an anti-aircraft heavy artillery - well, that's just plain awesome. John Malkovich can play crazy, as he does here once again and supporting characters Brian Cox (as a Russian spy - now friendly), Richard Dreyfuss as a sneaky industrialist, Karl Urban as the up-and-coming field agent and Mary-Louise Parker - wide-eyed and horrified/excited depending on the situation, all work well together. Also watch for Ernest Borgnine as the definitive old-school records keeper.

While the earlier film, The Expendables used a cast of tough action heroes, Red takes a more highbrow approach. You still get the action - plenty of gun fights, not as much blood but I think a much better story and definitely better acting. Of course you have to have a certain amount of disbelief to truly enjoy the film, but Hollywood being Hollywood - that's a given.

All in all, the cast looks like they're having a good time, and the movie reflects that fact well. All these pros bounce off one another quite well and keep things fresh and fun while not skimping on the drama. Recommended for fans of action, and acting as well.