Red 2

Red 2

Starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony Hopkins 

Directed by Dean Parisot

Retired, Extremely Dangerous...that's what Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and his friend Marvin (John Malkovich) are labeled by the government.  While Frank is trying to lead a normal life with his girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), Marvin fears people are still after them.

He turns out to be right, as several players are out to kill Moses and Marvin over a mission called Nightshade, in which a nuclear bomb was smuggled into Russia piece-by-piece - and ended up missing.  Several governments want to find the bomb, including MI6, who enlists Frank's friend Victoria (Helen Mirren) to kill him, and the Americans, who hire Frank's old enemy Han (Lee Byung-hun) to also kill him.

Frank, Marvin and Sarah head to Russia to find the bomb, and come into contact with Frank's old flame Katya (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who makes Sarah immediately jealous.  As their investigation deepens they find the originator of the bomb, Dr. Bailey (Anthony Hopkins), who's been in a mental institution for over thirty years.  Will they be able to find and dismantle the bomb before it falls into the wrong hands?

Several people found "Red 2" to not be as good as the original.  While I tend to agree, it's not by a large margin.  It's about 5% worse than the original in my eyes.  It's filled with action, intrigue, suspense and the witty banter between the main cast was downright hilarious, and you can tell everyone had a blast making the film, which is good because it lowers the viewers' guard, making them enjoy it more as well.

The on-screen chemistry between Willis, Parker and Malkovich especially make them a great crime-fighting trio, one just as important as the other.  With such a...seasoned...cast, the action was unrelenting and over-the-top, which most people tend to shy away from but I can understand it's a movie - it's meant to not be real.  Overall it was an enjoyable romp with amazing talent and a solid story.

My Rating: A-