Country:
United States
Recognizable Faces:
Bruce Willis
John Malkovich
Helen Mirren
Morgan Freeman
Karl Urban
Mary Louise Parker
Richard Dreyfuss
Directed By:
Robert Schwentke
I rented RED for Josie, because she unconditionally loves old people. I figured out that a movie, based on a DC graphic novel and CIA retirees couldn't really go wrong. It couldn't be the most intellectual movie either, but it also couldn't take itself too seriously. That's my problem with comic book based movies. They try hard to be edgy and serious, having their own mythology and all. RED managed to avoid the traps of the genre and slip a word or two about the condition of the elderly in America. Oh, and did I mentioned it was the best action movie I have watched in a while?
The story revolved around Frank Moses (Willis), a seemingly normal retiree, lonely and bored by his suburban life. While waiting to die, his only pleasure is to tear his government checks and call pension worker Sarah (Mary Louise Parker) to chit chat and ask for another. But Frank-O ain't your normal retiree. He worked black ops for the CIA for countless years. So you can only imagine how shitty suburban life must seem to him. But that's OK, a random death squad knocks on his door and tries to assassinate him. Frank deflects the hit like the old pro he is and, with a breeze of life washing over him, goes investigating on the hit, reforming his old team back.
You figure out what happens next. Angry but focused elders, going after the youngsters and showing them that experience cannot be bought. It's good to see old people kicking some ass like they mean it. The nice surprise was to see Frank Moses' team comment on the fate of elders in America. Victoria (Helen Mirren)'s comment marked me as particularly accurate: "As soon as I stopped working, people expected me to be someone else". We often treat our elders like fragile potteries and for that reason, they end up collecting dust in a corner. They might not be all retired CIA agents, but fun and boldness doesn't abandon you when your hair turns white.
I don't want to spread myself on a super-long review, because RED is peppered with nice surprises and amusing plot twists. It's not the most challenging movie, but it's a riot on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and peanut butter toasts. It's full of explosions and heavy handed villains, but it's a surprisingly humble movie that manages to distract and make fun at the archetypal action movie and at its bishop, Mr. Michael Bay. Good, light-hearted fun.
SCORE: 85%
