Wednesday, November 03, 2010

I've Seen RED


"Homer Simpson? No, I'm Bruce Willis...d'oh!"

Red is a film about retired CIA agents that are being systematically assassinated for an undetermined reason. It stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Ernest Borgnine, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Red is the best movie Bruce Willis has been in since Sin City. It's action sequences are well directed. The storyline is interesting. The acting by all, except for Dreyfuss, is decent. Richard Dreyfuss starts talking with a Southern United States accent in his first scene, and then it noticeably fails to bother to resurface again. Helen Mirren's performance stood out most. I don't believe I've ever seen an accomplished senior citizen English actress look so comfortable firing an arsenal of fully automatic weaponry.
Meryl Streep was a serious consideration to play Mirren's role. In the end, I believe the correct choice was made. The character responsible for the psychotic comedy relief was played by John Malkovich. John C. Reilly was originally cast for John's character, but had to drop out of the movie due to prior commitments. Also, be sure to look for Bruce Willis' coolest automobile exit in cinematic history.

Despite the typical Hollywood style of solving problems that have realistically impossible odds of accomplishing with seemingly effortless ease, the movie Red was more fun to watch than The Losers, The A-Team, and Alpha and Omega combined. It is worth watching on an Imax screen, then to rent it again just to witness how Willis handles serious fender benders.

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