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The title of this film is an acronym, referring to
Retired: Extremely Dangerous. More specifically, it is the former CIA
officer (or some sort of special ops, it doesn't really matter which)
Frank Moses (the ever-reliable Bruce
Willis) who is trying to relax into retirement but facing major hurdles!
From the opening scene, which is amazingly fun, it's get-go!
Moses has been having a telephonic relationship with
call-centre girl Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) and the two finally decide
to meet up face-to-face – except he's being pursued and those after him,
mainly agent William Cooper (Karl Urban), will stop at nothing to find
him. Sarah is swept up in the chase and along the way, Moses calls on
former friendly but eccentric and intriguing faces (Morgan Freeman,
Ernest Borgnine, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren all play along
stupendously) to try and stay alive.
Director
Robert Schentke's RED is based on the graphic novel by Warren
Ellis and Cully Hamner. It is fast-moving, funny and engaging. There is
the overall sense of light-heartedness which means we know none of the
good guys are ever in danger and the cartoon violence doesn't make us
ponder mortality all that much.
I quite
enjoyed watching this movie. It's a lot of fun. Some of the scenes just
look good! Of note would be the vice-presidential ball as well as the
bunker. This is one element of the overall nostalgia for the Cold War
era when the enemy had the clearly-defined face of the Soviet, as
opposed to the Post-9/11 'War on Terror'. The CIA is surprisingly
bureaucratic and porous on the one hand, yet chillingly calculating and
effective on the other. Both these facets can conceivably co-exist in
our collective imagination. And of course, virtually everyone has been
remarking on the ball-gowned Mires behind the biggest-mother-f*cking-gun-you've-ever-seen!
Truly a sight to behold.
Fans of even one of the stars in RED should go see
the movie. It's a good time in the cinema. |
