Old-fashioned fun

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2010)

An action comedy, starring Bruce Willis in self-referential (and slightly self-spoofing) mode? Yeah, Cop Out wasn't that great. Fortunately, Red is a stronger piece of material for two reasons: first of all, it's based on a really good comic-book by genre maestro Warren Ellis; secondly, Willis isn't paired with Tracy Morgan, but a talented ensemble including Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren.
The former John McClane plays Frank Moses, a retired man who spends his days sitting around the house, reading trashy romance novels and talking on the phone with an attractive woman (Mary-Louise Parker) working for the pension office. After a failed hit on his life, Frank - who is revealed to be a former CIA operative - discovers he's been labeled RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) and decides to get to the bottom of the story with the help of a few ex-colleagues (Freeman, Malkovich, Mirren) and former enemies (Brian Cox), while a young, ambitious agent (Karl Urban) is on his trail.
With the comedy/action balance firmly in place and the "old people" angle (minor roles are played by veterans like Richard Dreyfuss and Ernest Borgnine) being a big part of the film's appeal, it could be easy to mistake it for an Expendables rip-off (Willis being in both movies is another element to consider). However, Red is a different beast: the tone is less tongue-in-cheek (there's no equivalent of the Stallone/Schwarzenegger encounter), and, with the exception of Willis, none of the actors have a reputation as actions stars, though they've all had experience in the genre, including Mirren (she previously played an assassin in Shadowboxer). As such, the film is a fun piece of entertainment that takes itself seriously enough to not become ridiculous, but is allowed to play with genre conventions.
Almost inevitably, the plot is on the thinner side of things, primarily because the original comic is only used as the basis of the first five minutes. After that, it's up to the screenwriters to come up with a worthy follow-up plot: intriguing, but hardly more unpredictable than the average action movie. That it stays believable and enjoyable is, obviously, due to the cast: everyone appears to be enjoying themselves, particularly Malkovich who has another go at his more manic turns (see Burn After Reading), and the younger players - Parker, Urban, Julian McMahon - are up to the challenge. As for Willis, his solid and entertaining lead role ensures Cop Out is nothing more than a distant memory.
Red may not be the best comic-book adaptation of 2010 (hello, Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim), but it's got the humor and energy to provide a nice couple of hours at the movies, plus characters that would be fun to watch again. A Malkovich-centric spin-off, perhaps?