Based, in the loosest sense of the word, on the comic book mini series from Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, RED was a fun, stylish action comedy that showed, just like The Expendables, that action stars don't get old , they just get more bad ass. Now the gang is back together for RED 2, with Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) replacing original director Robert Schwentke. With Parisot at the helm, the focus here is on comedy over action, leading to a sequel that doesn't quite capture the spirit and fun of the original.
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) has put his spy days behind him, trying his best to live a normal life with girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), despite her protestations. When fellow retired spy Marvin Boggs (John Malkovitch) warns Frank that they are in danger, it sets the three off on a globe trotting adventure to find a mysterious weapon, putting them in the sights of the American, British, and Russian secret service.
RED 2 wastes no time in getting the audiences into the thick of it, setting up the stakes and getting all the players in place within the first twenty minutes. Once the set up, featuring an immensely enjoyable escape from a government safe house, is out of the way, the movie falls down, lurching from one scene to another with no real rhyme or reason. The overly complicated plot doesn't help matters, allegiances changing left and right for nothing other than that's what the script said to do. Things pick up for the third act, with all the dangling plot threads tied up nicely for an embassy heist that is the closest this sequel comes to the original, though it leads to a terribly under whelming finale. Despite the problems with the story, there is a rich vein of humour running through this, punctuated by some sparingly used but exciting action sequences, which keeps things enjoyable.
Willis is just playing Willis here, though some flashes of character at the start suggest something different from the actor, though he quickly falls back into default mode, despite a prickly chemistry with Parker. Malkovitch, the most enjoyable part of the original, is sleep walking here, showing none of the fun or craziness we know he's capable of, and pretty much just being there for exposition. Of the returning cast, Helen Mirren's Victoria fares much better, seemingly having the most fun. Anthony Hopkins, as an insane weapons maker, wears out his welcome quickly, his crazy schitck just reminding me what we were missing form Malkovitch. Lee Byung-hun's contract killer is best new addition, pretty much the focal point of all the action scenes, adding an immense amount of energy to proceedings. And oh yeah, Catherine Zeta Jones is in this. Forgot about that. Think that pretty much tells you all you need to know.
Not a patch on the original, there is still a lot to like about RED 2. The perfect popcorn movie, it doesn't tax the brain too much, and provides a enjoyable night out at the cinema.
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) has put his spy days behind him, trying his best to live a normal life with girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), despite her protestations. When fellow retired spy Marvin Boggs (John Malkovitch) warns Frank that they are in danger, it sets the three off on a globe trotting adventure to find a mysterious weapon, putting them in the sights of the American, British, and Russian secret service.
RED 2 wastes no time in getting the audiences into the thick of it, setting up the stakes and getting all the players in place within the first twenty minutes. Once the set up, featuring an immensely enjoyable escape from a government safe house, is out of the way, the movie falls down, lurching from one scene to another with no real rhyme or reason. The overly complicated plot doesn't help matters, allegiances changing left and right for nothing other than that's what the script said to do. Things pick up for the third act, with all the dangling plot threads tied up nicely for an embassy heist that is the closest this sequel comes to the original, though it leads to a terribly under whelming finale. Despite the problems with the story, there is a rich vein of humour running through this, punctuated by some sparingly used but exciting action sequences, which keeps things enjoyable.
Willis is just playing Willis here, though some flashes of character at the start suggest something different from the actor, though he quickly falls back into default mode, despite a prickly chemistry with Parker. Malkovitch, the most enjoyable part of the original, is sleep walking here, showing none of the fun or craziness we know he's capable of, and pretty much just being there for exposition. Of the returning cast, Helen Mirren's Victoria fares much better, seemingly having the most fun. Anthony Hopkins, as an insane weapons maker, wears out his welcome quickly, his crazy schitck just reminding me what we were missing form Malkovitch. Lee Byung-hun's contract killer is best new addition, pretty much the focal point of all the action scenes, adding an immense amount of energy to proceedings. And oh yeah, Catherine Zeta Jones is in this. Forgot about that. Think that pretty much tells you all you need to know.
Not a patch on the original, there is still a lot to like about RED 2. The perfect popcorn movie, it doesn't tax the brain too much, and provides a enjoyable night out at the cinema.
