Red

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Red
Starring Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich
Directed by Robert Schwentke

Retired black ops CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is enjoying the retired life, until one night a team of assassins invade his home.  Fending them off, he takes off in search of Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), a GHA pension officer customer service agent whom he had been talking to on the phone, fearing for her safety.  He then enlists the help of other retired agents including Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) to find out why the CIA has targeted him for assassination.  Their investigation leads to a stunning event that happened in their past, and a very powerful man who will stop at nothing to keep that event a secret.

Filled with nonstop action and hilarious humor, "Red" (Retired, Extremely Dangerous) mixes both with brilliant precision, with a cast that you know enjoy each other and therefore it makes you enjoy the film even more.  The casting is amazing and the story is compelling, but the only issue I have is that they travel literally all over the country in a matter of a few days.  Moses travels from Cleveland to Kansas City to Louisiana in a day, and I still wonder how he was able to achieve that.

Taking that aside, the other issue I have with the film isn't with the movie itself, but rather a question that's been pondered for awhile now:

"Where are all the current action stars?"

There's been a flood of films lately starring action heroes from the 80s and 90s, including Bruce Willis, Arnold, Stallone, and others.  Where are the new, young action heroes?  The only ones that come to mind are Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson (who both aren't young bucks themselves), Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner.  Taylor Lautner tried his best but he needs to stick to stupid girl-fanatic films where he takes off his shirt a lot.  Chris Hemsworth's brother Liam has tried at action but mostly fell short.  We're going to need some more up-and-coming action stars before the classics die out.

Back to "Red," I would highly recommend it for someone looking for a great action film filled with heart and humor.

My Rating: A-

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