Ever imagined what retirement would be like for special black-ops CIA agents, swapping their AK-47s for a pair of slippers or assasinations for flower arranging? Well the transition is not so easy, but when an attempt is made on Frank Moses’ life he wastes no time in getting his old team together and they gladly get back into action once again.
Bruce Willis (Moses ) is back in flying form in RED, a kick-ass action-packed movie which does not take itself too seriously by mixing up explosive shoot-’em-up scenes with plenty of humour. Brilliantly directed by Robert Schwentke, this film’s success is also down to the casting of John Malkovich, who plays the crazy and paranoid Marvin Boggs, Helen Mirren as a formidable and classy ex-assassin Victoria, and Morgan Freeman as Joe Matheson. Placed alongside these big names is Mary-Louise Parker who gives an impressive performance as Sarah Ross, a pension customer service worker who finds herself suddenly caught up in this Bond-like dangerous world.
Having been one of the CIA’s best black-ops agents, Moses finds retirement, well, just plain boring. The only exciting part of the day is tearing up his pension cheques as an excuse to talk to Ross. He eventually gets up the nerve to ask her out, however these plans change slightly when a group of assassins turn up. Without so much as a bead of sweat Moses easily deals with this first wave of assassins and rushes to save Ross. Being gagged with duct tape and smuggled to different cities is not exactly the firstdate Ross had in mind.
With the Retired Extremely Dangerous crew back together again Moses attempts to figure out why the CIA has ordered their elimination. They discover the death of a journalist who uncovered too much, and a number of other people whose names are on a list. The names are all linked to an incident in the past and the trail leads to the higher levels of government. Together the team attempt to prevent the threats to their lives and expose the conspiracy. Sounds like a tough job, but these guys just revel in the excitement and danger of it all.
It’s a real leave the brain at the door kind of stuff and I just loved it. It just worked due to the excellent casting and humorous directing. Malkovich was particularly funny playing the crazy guy. Go watch it!
Verdict 4.5/5
