Red

This all-star action bonanza didn't get a great deal of favourable reviews, which surprises me a little. Red may not push the boundaries as far as action films or comic-adaptations go, but it's a thoroughly entertaining and unpretentious piece of fun. I've read that this film is a somewhat Hollywoodised version of it's source material (a graphic novel by cult writer Warren Ellis), but I think it's forgiveable as Red doesn't set out to underachieve by any stretch of the imaginiation... instead it becomes something else; a delightful mash-up of comic book roots, all-American mythos and the great Hollywood tradition of teaming up a whole gaggle of recognisable actors.

Bruce Willis plays Frank Moses, codenamed 'Red' (Retired, Extremely Dangerous) by the CIA. Karl Urban plays the CIA operative wiping out Frank and his former team-mates... it seems that Frank and his old friends know something that makes them a liability to America. Frank is just trying to lead a normal life, but his blossoming relationship with phone-jockey Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) is rudely interrupted by a CIA wetworks team, meaning that the two are forced to go on the run (something that doesn't exactly endear Frank to Sarah). Frank tracks down his surviving former associates with a view to fighting back, with the result being a somewhat motley bunch of skilled but eccentric retired spies.

I know it doesn't exactly sound original, but this conspiracy film is elevated by three things. It's funny without betraying the genre, the A-list cast is clearly having a lot of fun from start to finish, and the film builds its familiar story on the CIA folklore that has become part of our modern pop culture. Black ops, shady characters, forced 'retirements', LSD experiments, conspiracies, Soviets, the camraderie of shared experience between Cold War veterans... it's all there, and it gets mined for some unexpected laughs and more than a few nice points of characterisation.

Red also deals with the idea of what action-hero archetypes like Bruce Willis do when they stop saving the world and just try to fit in with normal society. For several decades now we've been fed a steady diet of these super-capable gung-ho heroes flipping off colossal badguys with cheesy one-liners... Red asks the question: What happens when these guys try and reintegrate into regular society? Frank's rehibilitation is both awkward and endearing, with Willis reigning in the machismo during his scenes with Mary-Louise Parker to reveal an eager sensitivity that's encourages both our sympathy and amusement.

The dyamic of the supporting cast is also a big plus in the film's favour - making this the Blue Brothers of action/espionage films. Morgan Freeman's wise elder character even says what the audience might be thinking, "We're getting the band back together". John Malkovich steals his scenes as Marvin (a paranoid ex-CIA LSD experiment), and Helen Mirren also does a great job as Victoria (a retired top-line assassin who still does the odd job for kicks). My favourite piece of casting though would have to be Ernest Borgnine as the Records Keeper... he might only have two scenes but I was just chuffed to see him on the screen (and sharing a scene with Bruce Willis), the guy is 93 and still seems to be in great health!

Anyway, this is a fun and smart action film. It doesn't have pretensions of being anything deeper than what it is... it's true to its genre stylings without coming off as shallow, which is no mean feat in an age of endless empty blockbusters.

DIRECTOR: Robert Schwentke
WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by Jon and Eric Hoeber, based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Curt Hamner.
KEY ACTORS: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Karl Urban, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine

RELATED TEXTS:
- The Losers is another recent graphic novel-to-film adaptation that deals with similar themes in the same slightly tongue-in-cheek manner.
- The Good Shepherd is a more serious and dramatic attempt to address the history of the CIA.
- John Malkovich previously appeared in more cerebral CIA comedy Burn After Reading.
- The espionage genre has long been a healthy staple of Hollywood, some notable entries include Hopscotch, The Three Days of the Condor, Spy Game, The Falcon and the Snowman and the Bourne trilogy.
- True Lies and Mr. and Mrs. Smith also deal with assassins and secret agents in a comedic fashion.