Does anybody remember the first Red? I mean, honestly remember it? I don't mean you remember that it was a decent little action flick that was certainly entertaining... I mean, do you remember specific plot points about the story, or funny lines, or even if Morgan Freeman isn't in the sequel because he died in the first one or not? Because I don't! Did Morgan Freeman die? I don't remember. Here's what I do remember: that I one time watched Red, that when it was over I remember going, "huh... that wasn't terrible", and then nothing else. It was one of those fun, entertaining, and extremely forgettable films that I saw, conquered, and blanked from my mind. That's exactly what's going to happen with Red 2.
Retired CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is at it again. He's trying to live the quaint suburban Costco-dwelling life with his girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) when his old buddy Marvin (John Malkovich) shows up and informs Frank that there's still people out to kill them. He then receives a call from his old buddy Victoria (Helen Mirren) saying she's just been hired to kill him. So, the crew get back together along with a couple of new faces (Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones) to stop a nuclear bomb from going off in Russia... or England... or America... actually I wasn't quite sure about that one (the plot jumps around a lot). The whole way they're being chased and shot at by two separate baddies (a white dude and a chinese dude whose names you won't know). There's car chases, and shoot-outs, and a lot of fun to be had. And yet, once you leave your seat by the end credits, you'll have a hard time remembering specifics of what you just witnessed.
It's not that the Red movies are bad, because they're still a higher quality action movie that most of what gets released (I'm looking at you Taylor Kitsch). It's just that they have nothing inherently special about them. The only thing that really sets them apart from other action films are Malkovich playing a paranoid bomb-nut and Mirren kicking everyone's ass. There are quippy lines, funny moments, absurd action, and plenty else to keep you happy and entertained for two hours, but it's nothing with staying power. This is one of those cases of a film getting a sequel that absolutely no one asked for, but no one was really upset with, either. I mean, how could you be? All of the characters are so extremely likable you're rooting for everyone all at once, particularly newbie to the franchise Anthony Hopkins is a delight. And, the writing isn't bad. There are a couple of plot twists that I didn't see coming. There are a few I did, but that's all part of the deal with sequels.
It's not going to be a waste of time seeing Red 2, and it won't kill too many brain cells, and if you can actually follow the plot (because it seems like there isn't one at some points and there is one but is too convoluted to follow in others), then you'll have a fun little two hours at the movies. And, really, isn't that the point of going out to see a film, anyway?
B
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