RED 2
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee
Directed by Dean Parisot
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[rating: 3/5]
Remember the movie that came out a few years ago that featured older actors being bad-ass? No, not The Expendables. The one that was good, the one that cemented your un-dying devotion to the awesomeness that is Helen Mirren. Yep, RED has got itself a sequel that again brings up the most important of questions, ‘Is Helen Mirren still my spirit animal?’ The answer is yes, yes she is.
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is content with his new danger-free life of shopping at bulk-buy warehouses and living the American dream (i.e. not being shot at on a daily basis), but his partner Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) is having trouble settling into normal life after the fun and excitement of their last adventure (see: the first RED). Luckily for her, and not so lucky for Frank, the ever-eccentric Marvin (John Malkovich) appears on the scene to warn them of an upcoming danger surfacing from Frank’s past which has them quickly blacklisted by every government organisation and then some. Thrust into the search for the truth, the trio go globe-trotting while being pursued by the most dangerous hit-people alive, namely Han Cho Bai (Byung-hun Lee) and the awesome and exceedingly British Victoria (Helen Mirren). Eventually tentatively teaming up with Russian security officer and femme fatale Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the team realises that the answers they seek and their only hope lies with a completely nutters institutionalised scientist named Bailey (Anthony Hopkins).
In a year of big ambitions and even bigger failures, some people with high expectations might find RED 2 a bit disappointing because of how basic it actually is. It doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel, it doesn’t even try and take an exciting new spin on the espionage genre. It just follows a stock-standard formula and expects you to appreciate it for what it is. RED 2 never tries be anything other than a basic, fun formulaic espionage adventure film with an incredibly charming seasoned cast, and it works. The action is entertaining, there’s a barrel of chuckles and you actually enjoy spending time with every single character on screen. Sure, the plot is basic and borders on cliché but it’s never aiming for anything other than being a fun popcorn flick that you can take your parents to.
The greatest strength RED 2 has is, of course, its stellar cast of golden-oldies. Returning are Bruce Willis as the over-protective straight man Frank Moses, John Malkovich as the delightfully crazed best friend Marvin, Mary-Louise Parker as the doe-eyed and sometimes too-cutesy girlfriend Sarah and, of course, everyone’s favourite buxom British golden-girl Helen Mirren returns as the deadly Victoria. Rounding out the stellar cast this time around are Anthony Hopkins as the bumbling and batty Baily, Catherine Zeta-Jones pulling off Russian Femme Fatale a little too well in Katja and finally the deliciously muscular (and yes they take the opportunity to show off as much of him as possible without getting a higher Rating) Byung-hun Lee as the deadly, even with a single piece of paper, Han Cho Bai.
While it definitely isn’t the most original or imaginative movie this year, it still manages to pull off being a solid sequel that has its heart in the right place and keeps tonally true to its predecessor. Something that can’t be said for some other films this year *cough*kickass2*cough*. If you enjoyed the first or are just looking for a simple, fun time at the movies then you can do much, much worse than RED 2.
