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RED
The plot to RED (that's "Retired Extremely Dangerous" for those of you not savvy with faux CIA lingo) is almost entirely inconsequential; something about the Vice President slaughtering some villagers in Guatemala and then assassinating all those involved in the clean-up for the sake of his own political expedience. Whatever. The point is that Bruce Willis is back doing what he did best - kicking ass. As the smallest (in stature terms) of Hollywood's macho gang of three, Willis was the one we ordinary folk could relate to the most. In a world encompassing Conan, Rambo and McLane, the latter is the one we could most easily (sic) aspire to. His return to the action genre is most welcome and puts this film head to head with Sly's earlier flick The Expendables with which it has much in common, if not in body count'n'guts then in its premise of a bunch of wrinkly killers back in the biz.
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Backed by a high calibre cast including Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Morgan Freeman, Karl Urban and Julian McMahon, the film would work better if the stars in the support roles (namely Mirren, Malkovich, Freeman, Dreyfuss and Cox) cameoed their appearances. Naturally, the studio's compelling need to sell its star power quashes such an opportunity to knowingly wink at the audience.
The stand-out performance, however, comes from Mary-Louise Parker who plays her hopeless romantic with a penchant for pulp espionage fiction beautifully. Her comic timing is also spot on and her subtle facial tics betray just as much about her character as her dialogue. It's also great to see a youthful 93 year old Ernest Borgnine back on the silver screen - another lost opportunity for an uncredited cameo.
Ridiculous? Yes. Unfeasible? Yes. Full of holes? Yes (and not just bullet ones). Fun? Definitely!
Stuart Jamieson
www.red-themovie.com
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