Red - Movie Review

By By: Shekhar H Hooli

Director Robert Schwentke"s Holywood movie Red is an adaptation of Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner"s graphic novel with same name 'Red', which means 'Retired Extremely Dangerous'. The most senior and respected thespians like Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich have joined hands with the director for the film. But there is nothing big to boast about the story of the film, which could have been bettered.

The movie Red is an action-cum-comedy movie with a touch of romance. The spy-caper film is all about a retired CIA agent and his lady love taking to the road after being targeted for death by a high-level government and business cabal. The film has everything that an action flick needs and the director has good grip over the narration too. But the lack of newness in the screenplay makes it not so interesting. Moreover, the movie lacks twists and it has quite predictable storyline.

As the movie starts, retired black-ops agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) appears talking to Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) of human resources department over phone about his pension check. The bored man flirts with her for a while. Immediately after his conversation, he is attacked by a team of masked assassins, but he kills them all and escapes from his house. Fearing for Sarah's life, he kidnaps her. How he takes the help of his former teammates Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Dame Helen Mirren) to curb the baddies will form the interesting action part of the film.

Bruce Willis is the showman and he rocks in the action scenes. But Willis' moves in this film have been seen a hundred times before. As his lady love Sarah, Mary-Louise Parker remains a dumb audience in many scenes. She has nothing much to act. She looks attractive. As associates of Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren have done a wonderful performance. Karl Urban, Ernest Borgnine, Julian McMahon, Richard Dreyfuss, Brian Cox and James Remar have also done justice to their respective roles.

The movie has been shot in Toronto metropolitan areas like Kansas and other cities and French quarter of New Orleans. Florian Ballhaus' camera work is wonderful. The dialogues, which have got some comic touch, are good. Christophe Beck's music is average. Thom Noble's editing work is the stand-out.

Overall, Red is mindless action film. If you have passion for old guys like Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Dame Helen Mirren, then don't miss to watch them in action scenes.

Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian

Director: Robert Schwentke

Cast: Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Mary Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Karl Urban, Ernest Borgnine, Julian McMahon, Richard Dreyfuss, Brian Cox and James Remar.

Music: Christophe Beck

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