I haven't killed anybody... in *years*!

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2010)

Retired life is not agreeing with Frank(Willis). He tries to get in contact with a sweet young woman(Parker), but other than that, not much happens. Then one day, he's attacked. Oh, it's fine. He's ex-CIA. Did I not mention that? Someone has put a hit on him, and he's gonna find out who. With the help of some old friends. This has two main draws. It's an adaptation of a beloved Warren Ellis mini(which I have not read it). While I can't comment on how it treats its source material, the stylization(appropriate in amount(this isn't like Sin City or 300... it's closer to something by John Woo), with effective use of slow-motion) of the cool action(though it isn't terribly tense, our heroes take care of the opposition with ease), much of the camera-work(with extended pans, simulating comic book panels) and the tongue-in-cheek tone really fit the medium this was "translated" from. The other thing is the cast. Bruce being a bad-ass is always a positive. Mirren with guns and in this role is fun. Freeman is surprisingly little in this. Mary-Louise isn't bad. Dreyfuss is definitely good. Malkovich is enjoyable as a raving loon, if it is quite forced at times. Cox is downright goofy, chewing almost as much scenery as a Russian as Curry did in Congo. And that's one of the unfortunate things. Only about half the humor works. The rest just falls flat. Because of how over the top it is(and at times, it is maybe too silly), this doesn't fare well when it tries to be serious... it utterly fails to balance the two, and when we're meant to care, we simply don't. This would be fine if we weren't supposed to... however, we are, here and there. The dialog is often dry(and that doesn't refer to wit) as sandpaper. I honestly have a hard time believing that some of this stuff made it past early drafts. The talents do what they can, usually failing to save it, and we have to suffer through rather poor delivery every now and then in this. There are things in this that you kind of expect, and yet they still "work". On the whole, it certainly is entertaining, if there is little sense of danger(it does manage to be exciting some of the time). The plot is pretty straightforward, and winds up not really sticking with you. Almost nothing surprises you as far as developments go, and impact of them is nonexistent. There is a bit of mild to moderate violence and brief strong language in this. I recommend it to those looking for something light that the concept appeals to. 7/10