Red

Nathalia Aryani started her review by saying, “After thrilling times at the last two movies led by Bruce Willis (“Live Free or Die Hard,” “Surrogates”), I was expecting more of the same with “Red” (Retired Extremely Dangerous). While it’s not as preposterously outrageous as “A-Team,” I haven’t had this much brainless fun with a movie since early this summer!”

Filled with an all-star, veteran cast having a carefree good time, the 2010 graphic novel adaptation of “Red” is going crazy. Intensely carefree, these retired veterans could easily beat their younger students by a round of shots and some.

Aryani said, “When I saw Bruce Willis stumping for the movie at Comic-Con this year, I was surprised to learn about the Helen Mirren bit. At that time, I never heard of “Red” before (I was there waiting for Angelina Jolie to make an appearance on the “Salt” panel). All doubts were erased when the trailer was shown. With a stern, rifle-totting Mirren looking more than competent to kick butt and her muttering “I kill people, dear,” I was instantly sold.”

On the edge of being attacked in his own home in the dark of the night, strong man, soft-spoken Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) runs to find Sarah Moses (Mary-Louise Parker), an employee of the Department of Pension who he has been in love with. Previously he’s been going through his money so that he could call and chat with her, while she’s been chatting with him about foreign travels and romance novels.

Willis does look like the type of CIA employee who takes down drug addicts, terrorists, and governments. Aryani credited, “Parker is impeccable with her wide-eyed, nutty expressions and comedic timing. There’s a hysterical exchange at her place when the two first meet in person. And the conversation in the car about their “first date” is positively gut-busting. The coolest, singular scene involves Willis stepping out of a spinning car and onto his feet firing.”

Together Frank and Sarah drive across the country to find his former CIA colleagues: Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), and “Victoria” (Dame Helen Mirren).

With CIA agents William Cooper (Karl Urban) and Cynthia Wilkes (Rebecca Pidgeon) close behind them, the team is racing against time to uncover war crimes with a top-ranking U.S. government official. Richard Dreyfuss makes a cameo as Alexander Dunning, a man with connections to the White House, and his role in the conspiracy becomes clear toward the end.

Willis is great with his break-in and out of CIA headquarters and long-drawn fistfights. Malkovich is completely crazy as the eccentric paranoid Marvin. You’ve never seen an underground hideout until you see Marvin’s! Don’t call him an “old man” and take it easy with the grenade or bazooka. Freeman, mainly seen living in a retirement home, might be the closest one to being a calm retired again – however, don’t count him out yet (or underestimate his punch!) Armed and dangerous Mirren does her part and fits right in with the boys, all the while connecting with a former lover.

“Red” is the summer blockbuster that we never had. It’s an over-the-top, hilariously explosive ride that we don’t ever want to stop.

Bruce Willis returns in “Red 2,” released in 2013, as retired CIA black ops expert Frank Moses, who’s trying to live a quiet life with his excitement-wanting, much younger girlfriend, Sarah Ross. While pushing a shopping cart at Costco, Frank’s alerted by his crazy colleague Marvin Boggs that they’re being targeted to rescue a long-lost Cold War-era nuclear device called Nightshade, hidden somewhere on the planet. That’s confirmed by a phone call from trigger-happy MI6 Victoria, who’s been assigned to kill them, and helped by the appearance of a dangerous Korean hitman named Han, played by martial arts expert Byung-hun Lee.

They’re off to find Edward Bailey, played by Anthony Hopkins, the sneakily disturbed scientist who made the deadly weapon of mass destruction. He’s been imprisoned by the British in a locked cell for the criminally insane for the past 32 years. Joining them is hot Catherine Zeta-Jones as Katja, a seductive Russian spy, along with Brian Cox as a romantic Ivan, Victoria’s Kremlin suitor. A Frenchman (David Thewlis) known as the Frog briefly distracts them, while CIA villain Jack Horton (Neal McDonough) constantly threats.

Susan Granger said in her review, “Based on DC Comics graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, it’s a thinly-plotted thriller by screenwriting brothers Jon and Erich Hoeber and directed by Dean Parisot, who helmed the hilariously satirical “Galaxy Quest” back in 1999.  Humor takes precedence over logic, as the intrepid senior spies dash from one escapade to another. While it’s hard to take your eyes off scene-stealing Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker shows surprising comedic timing, seething with jealousy when Frank is dazzled by Katja, whom Marvin describes as “Frank’s Kryptonite.” The amusingly droll relationship banter between protective Willis, paranoid Malkovich and adventurous Parker propels the pace.”

My sister got the second one from the library, so I went to the library to check out the first one. I saw the first film on my own and after I was done watching that, then I watched the second film with my sister. I think the first one was enjoyable in the same sense as “The Expendables” (seeing how they both came out the same year) but the second one was just okay. I thought it was an average film, but it was still a fun film to watch, like the first one. If you have not seen these films, you can see them on Amazon Prime. Check them out and see if you enjoy them, which I think everyone will since they aren’t one of the best in the genre, but nowhere near being considered one of the worst ever made. Watch them and see for yourself.

All right everyone, next week I will be looking at another average couple of films in the finale of “Morgan Freeman Month Part 2.”