Movie Review - Red

As you go through movie blog after movie blog you will see or hear about the summer movie season that was. Some will bring up the one or two blockbusters like Inception that did well, but for the most part, they will tell you it was pretty terrible. Well, I'm here to say the discussion isn't done yet, because Red came to the party, just a bit late. So, does that mean it was bad? Not hardly.

Red is a movie starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban and Mary-Louise Parker in a movie that is half Space Cowboys and half A-Team and all fun. The movie is about retired CIA operative and super-spy Frank Moses (Willis) as a guy flirting with an ordinary life, and an ordinary girl (Parker), when out of nowhere, his ex-company, the CIA decides he knows too much and tries to kill him. The kill-sqaud is lead by Karl Urban, who will stop at nothing to kill Moses, and his old team, consisting of a mental patient (Malkovich), a female James Bond (Mirren) and Morgan Freeman. Now, they must clear their name before they get dead.

The casting in this movie is right on. Sure, Willis is his normal self, but every character is so colorful, and look like they are having so much fun, it is impossible not to join in. The action is silly and over the top, but really well done, and the comedy is pretty even, just look for Malkovich; when he's on screen, it's a guaranteed laugh. Urban does a good job as a tough guy, and even Ernest Borgnine and Brian Cox add to the fun. Finally, Parker is quite adorable as the innocent girl looking for adventure, and finding it in a bunch of geriatric CIA operatives.

The movie may have been a bit long, and slowed down a bit about three quarters of the way through, but overall, it was a great time and deserves to be compared to nearly any summer movie you saw this season, and often will win the comparison. It has a great cast, and the fun is infectious. Sure, there are smarter movies like Catfish or Social Network that deserve to be praised for their greatness, but every once in awhile, you've gotta have a little fun, too, and Red will deliver that last bit of summer fun.

This also appeared on Creative Loafing's website. You can check out the Loafy goodness HERE.