Red

What do action stars do when they're past their prime?  I'm not talking about actors who happen to be in some action movies either.  We're talking rough and ready action stars always willing to mix things up if needed.  Do you age gracefully and take some supporting roles in movies you used to star in?  Do you find another gig out of the action genre?  Bruce Willis is an interesting example of this situation, the 56-year old star not the box office sure thing he used to be, but still a reliable enough star that audiences will come out to see. In 2010's Red, his character is even a variation on that idea, a man slightly past his best days (no offense, Mr. Willis, I'm a big fan) who refuses to move on. 

The first time I saw the trailer for Red, I smiled.  I couldn't help it.  This is some cast for this action-heavy popcorn flick with a dose of comedic value added for good measure.  It reminds me of a lot of movies from the 1960s and 1970s that brought together casts of huge stars that maybe just didn't shine as bright as they used to.  I don't mean any of that as a dig at this cast -- just the opposite -- but it's almost like The Expendables plus 15 or 20 years.  Loosely based on a series of three graphic novels, this movie is just a lot of fun.  Seeing half the cast together would have been worth it, but all together? We're talking can't miss, no matter how much the movie might have struggled in theaters.

A recently retired CIA agent, Frank Moses (Willis) lives in his suburban house outside Cleveland, leading a quiet, orderly, lonely and generally boring life. The one enjoyment he gets out of life is his weekly calls to his pension agent/representative, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), with whom he clicked with right away. One night though, Frank's house is attacked by a hit squad, but he manages to escape, heading to Kansas City to find Sarah because she'll eventually be tracked down too.  Of all the dangerous jobs he pulled off, why years later is someone gunning for him and all his associates? With some help from those past associates, including crazy conspiracy theorist Marvin (John Malkovich), aging ex-agent Joe (Morgan Freeman), and killer extraordinaire Victoria (Helen Mirren), Frank goes about figuring it out. One of the CIA's top agents, Cooper (Karl Urban) is on the hunt too, trying to figure out exactly what the legendary Moses is up to.

When I see that a movie is based off a graphic novel, I'm usually pretty skeptical.  For every 300, there are a lot of really awful movies to counter with that just didn't translate well to the screen.  This is one of the exceptions.  It's good, mostly because of the cast, but more on that later.  While I liked The Expendables which I watched a few weeks back, it could have been better.  It took itself too seriously.  Not the case here because director Robert Schwentke knows how far to push it and still have fun with it. The tone is both serious while still maintaining a bit of the crazy, off the wall humor that works so well.  It's not quite tongue in cheek, but Red is close without trying too hard to be the end-all classic action comedy.

Okay, I don't care who you are, but if a cast that includes Willis, Mirren, Freeman, Malkovich, Parker and others (keep reading, next paragraph) doesn't get you interested, I don't know what to tell you.  Movies just may not be for you.  Willis plays the steely-eyed former agent to perfection, a variation on many of the action heroes he played over the last 20-plus years.  The sub-plot with Parker is pretty good too, not distracting from the main story but interesting enough it doesn't detract overall. Mirren is dead sexy as Victoria, plain and simple.  She doesn't make an appearance until almost an hour in, but she makes up for lost time. Freeman too isn't in it much, but it's Morgan Freeman.  Come on, that's not a bad thing. Malkovich is hysterical, and the main reason to see Red.  His paranoid agent was dosed LSD once a day for 11 years, and he's clearly a little off his rocker.  Physical comedy, subtle facial reactions, throwaway one-liners, he does it all, his Marvin Boggs the breakout star here.

With an ensemble like that, it's hard to go wrong, but three more supporting parts jumped out at me.  They're the type of parts that could have been thrown away, but with the right actor in the parts, they bring the movie up a notch on their own.  First, Brian Cox as Ivan, a Russian adversary turned ally in Moses' battle against the CIA. He has a past with Mirren's Victoria, but he's that relic from the Cold War who misses the old days.  His one-on-one scene with Willis discussing those days is priceless.  Second, Richard Dreyfuss as Dunning, a black market arms dealer who is involved with the past mission that now has Moses in the CIA's crosshairs.  I've always been a fan, but it's great to see Dreyfuss in full-on, evil bad guy role.  Third, Hollywood legend Ernest Borgnine (still chugging along at 90-plus) as Henry, the CIA's basement records keeper.  In just two quick scenes, he shows what makes him the legend he is.

Why did this movie struggle so badly in theaters late last summer and early fall?  I can't put my finger on it.  It's nothing new when it comes to movies, but how many new movies are particularly unique? I didn't love the movie, but I did really like it.  There are some genuinely funny, laugh out loud moments, including one of my new all-time favorite lines.  Malkovich deadpans after an epic shootout, "How about we get some pancakes?" It's a really good movie that could have been great.  Still, with a cast like this, it's impossible to pass it up.

Red <---trailer (2010): ***/****