A fun, entertaining, suspenseful, funny action movie that is driven by great, enjoyable characters

Rating: 9/10 (1 November 2010)

If I had to sum up this movie in one sentence, it would be a fun, entertaining, suspenseful, funny action movie that is driven by great, enjoyable characters. Sure, there's an all-star cast: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren, but every one of them makes a character of his/her own.
Willis, whom over the years has come across as a seemingly ordinary guy, but when messed with, he comes off as a tough, no nonsense, cliché one-liner hero. He follows this formula perfectly. His initial appearance is a quiet, simple, lonely middle-aged guy who lives in suburbia. Everything he does is routine—he wakes up at 6 a.m., works out in his basement, eats breakfast, you get the picture. But when his idyllic home is blown to hell (literally) from mysterious men in black outfits, armed to the teeth with machine guns, he reveals himself as a gifted fighter and marksmen—the old Bruce Willis is back and better than ever.
If you're looking for humor, look no further than John Malkovich. He often plays nutty roles, and this is one of his best. His character paranoid and somewhat delusional, but he holds a charm that makes him probably the most lovable character in this film. His delivery of lines is priceless and the demeanor he carries for his role is perfect. Perhaps he can get an Oscar nomination for his role (maybe unlikely, but I sure hope so).
Morgan Freeman (whom I never thought of as an action hero) holds himself as the old wise man that he always portrays in movies. But beneath the age, he always has a card up his sleeve in case of a deadly situation. Helen Mirren is the similar, but she has a taste for the dangerous, always wielding a gun of some sortjust in case. And for someone her age, she is gorgeous.
Other great roles are delivered by Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfus, Karl Urban, Mary Louise-Parker (whom I've never seen before), as well as multiple others. The editing, sound, music, camera work, and lighting are all flawless. The pace is moderate. The 1 hour and 51 minutes did not fly by, but I wasn't bored at all. The story was mostly good, but it could've been better, then again, it's an action flick. Story is not the main goal.
For an action flick, this movie has it all. Humor. Explosions. Gunfire. Even a brutal martial arts fight and a sense of the ridiculous. And once again, brilliant characters.
3.5/4