Red

Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren in the same movie lends itself to a lot of jokes about retirement homes, or at the very least bad old person jokes. The fact of the matter is, all four of these actors have a lot left in the tank, and honestly, Malkovich seems to just be having more fun as he gets older. While, I am not familiar with the source material, it is tailor made for Bruce Willis. If ever there was an old man who we had to believe could still beat people up while keeping his wits about him, it is Willis. If you want an all out action dude, go to Stallone, but if you need an old dude to kick ass, crack wise and be smart, Bruce Willis is your man. You need Freeman because he does the wily veteran thing so well and since every movie needs eye candy, we have Helen Mirren, sexy sexy Helen Mirren.

Frank Moses(Willis) has a secret. He is getting his social security checks, but he is ripping them up so he can call the office and tell the lady he is not getting them. He does this because he has a crush on the call operator, Sarah Ross(Mary Louise Parker) and he does not know how else to talk to her. Now that is not really his big secret, his big secret is that he used to be an American spy and now someone is coming after him with murderous intent. In order to find out how, Moses enlists the help of his old friends, Joe(Freeman), Marvin(Malkovich) and Victoria(Mirren). Joe is good with plans, Marvin has information and Victoria is a weapons goddess. Moses is not sure what is happening, but soon he is put in touch with the notes of a recently killed reporter and learns that in the 1980s the vice president went crazy with killing in the army and Moses and his crew may have been privy to that information. However, these old timers also have a ruthless Secret Service agent on their tail. William Cooper(the wonderful Karl Urban) is smart, savvy and brutal, but he also has ethics and to him, Moses is the man behind a bunch of serious crimes.

This year has seen more than its fair share of action comedies and a majority of them have failed more than they have succeeded. Red succeeds more than it fails, but not by the best of margins. The pacing is totally wonky, the constant freeze frames that are "wink wink, nudge nudge" moments of "HEY THIS IS A COMIC BOOK MOVIE" but it is also so much fun and the action is very much top notch. Willis and Co are clearly having a blast as the old people still shooting guns, punching people out and running from the bad guys. Malkovich has perfected this crazy guy routine that Christopher Walken used to have on lock, Willis looks more invested in a movie than he has in years, Freeman cannot wipe the giant smile off of his face and no one has ever looked like they were having more fun shooting a Gatling Gun than Helen Mirren. Mary Louise Parker is merely along for the ride but even she is having a blast playing this girl who is in for the ride of her life and finds herself very turned on by a guy in action.

the script has some nice jokes and a few great gags, but I think, on the page it probably is a bit lackluster. It is one of those movies fully brought out by the cast and because they have all bought into the movie, the movie gets a nice boost. Red starts strong, and finishes incredibly strong, but it lags big time in the middle. I think the film was hoping introducing the crazy Malkovich character half way through would allow them to slow the movie down without losing the punch, but it nearly derails the movie, not because Malkovich does not work, but because they put it all on him and do not keep the forward momentum going. As the group tries to figure out the plot, the movie lingers in this limbo between action and comedy, but neither gets much to do. I did enjoy the little action sequence at the airport, including the absolutely ridiculous climax to that scene, but other than that, the movie loses its way.

Luckily Red gets back on track and in a major way. The climatic action sequence is absolutely phenomenal. It gives us wonderful stunts, seriously awesome gun play, a little emotion, sexy Helen Mirren and then, while the twist is not much of a twist, it gives us a satisfying conclusion. It is a well paced, well thought out and excellently executed conclusion to an up and down film. It is such a good action sequence that it pushed the movie into that realm of succeeding more than failing. Red does not set the genre on fire, nor will I really remember much of it in a few months, but it was an entertaining distraction and it is fun to watch a group of people having such a good damn time at work.

Final Grade: C+