“RED” Review by Chris

“RED” is the story of Frank Moses, an ex-CIA agent who can't figure out what to do with his retirement. Played by the similarly aging Bruce Willis, Moses' only human contact is the occasional passing neighbor and brief phone conversations with his pension representative Sarah Ross, played by Mary-Louise Parker. When Frank finds himself under attack by government agents and it becomes clear Sarah is similarly in danger, Frank risks life and limb to save her, despite the fact that they have never met in the real world. It's here that the deeper stories of the movie begin, and Moses calls his retired agent friends back into action.

At surface level, “RED” is an average action movie that consists of over the top shootouts with a few interesting visual highlights. But it's also a story about relationships. The budding relationship between Frank and Sarah drives the plot forward, and below that is a rekindled love between Victoria, played by Helen Mirren, and Ivan, played by Brian Cox. While I would hardly call it family-friendly, the story also details William Cooper, played by Karl Urban, and his relationship with his wife and kids. Joe Matheson, played by Morgan Freeman, and Marvin Boggs, played by John Malkovich, keep the movie light and add new angles with which to appreciate the other characters.

One of the film’s problems is that, just when the relationships start to draw your attention, they often get interrupted by a moment of action and you get pulled out of the film. During talking moments, the writing is witty and the banter is fun. Thanks to Sarah's unfamiliarity with the CIA world, you get walked through the first hour of the story, which means the plot never gets confusing. After the story and the rules of the “RED” universe are established, Sarah is taken away, leaving Frank empty as a character. Without his love interest to interact with, Frank becomes forgettable and his story’s interest loses out to Victoria and Ivan's story and the crazy antics of Marvin.

Through all the action, of the actors in this movie perform admirably. Each of them
portrays a unique version of a retired government agent. They all bring something special and will keep you watching the movie, but their performances aren't helped by lackluster editing and seemingly random cuts. The feel of the film also suddenly switches near the end, as the constant humor stops dead for a long period. Another frustrating part is that the trailers show two of the best action moments in the film, making the actual scenes not as exciting and leaving you wanting something new.

It should be noted that RED is based off of a comic book. While I myself have not read it, I have been told that the comic is of a much more serious nature than the film and that several characters have been added. Also, the original comic series was only three short issues, making it necessary to add additional plot points that were not in the original comic.

RED was a great idea with an amazing cast, but due to poor editing and forgettable film and sound work, it just doesn't reach its potential. The actors and writing redeem the film enough to make it an enjoyable experience, but it’s not something you're going to want to see more than once.

Writen by Chris
Edited by Aaron