Review:
RED

RED is an action comedy directed by Robert Schwentke based on the graphic novel of the same name written by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner and published by Detective Comics. The title is actually an acronym – Retired Extremely Dangerous, which is the tag that is applied at the beginning of the film to Frank Moses, the central character played by Bruce WiIlis.

Frank is a former CIA black-ops agent with a thick, top-secret file detailing his exploits over the years. However, he has since retired from active duty, and lives alone, struggling to adapt to the banality of suburban domestic life. His difficulty in connecting to normal people is highlighted by the fact that one of the few people he enjoys talking to is a girl in a call centre who works for the company that provides his pension cheques. Frank’s difficulty in leaving his old life behind proves to be helpful when a group of mysterious masked men show up at his house to kill him.

Frank’s first port of call after going on the run is the home of Sarah (played by Mary-Louise Parker, best known from her lead role in the TV show Weeds), the girl he has been calling, but whom he has never met. He assumes that someone must have bugged his phone, and therefore he has inadvertently placed her in danger. With little time to explain he kidnaps her and, after making contact some old pals from his former life, he begins to piece together the truth behind who wants to kill him, and why.

As I haven’t read the graphic novel I can’t really comment on how closely the film hews to the plot of the original story. The screenplay is a joy however, and is littered with wry comedy moments. The banter between Frank and Sarah is warm, and despite the clear absurdity of the situation (and the age gap between the actors) they share some genuine chemistry.

Each of the supporting players - John Malkovich, Brian Cox and Helen Mirren - clearly take delight in their quirky action roles, no doubt each of them relishing being cast so against their normal type. In fact, the film is worth the entry price alone for the sight of Helen Mirren (who has previously played the Queen) firing a pinion-mounted Gatling gun with both hands. Another highlight is Malkovich’s paranoid goon clutching a bright pink stuffed pig (which turns out to be more useful than you might think).