You know how I said in my Psycho review that making horror films is a lost art? Well, I say the same thing about action films. I think a definite thing that has to do with the downfall of action is the fact that Schwartzenegger and Stallone have gotten old. A great action film has to have great action, but a good story and acting as well. True Lies for example: it still has great action and Arnold kicking ass, but it has a story and okay acting to go with it. But Red is different than most action films designed for mass entertainment, as in, it's funny and it has a good story. As good as it was, I found myself somewhat underwhelmed and it is on the forgettable side.
First of all, it has a fantastic cast, all except for one. That one is Mary Louise Parker, playing a dumbass love interest for Bruce Willis (much similar to Cameron Diaz in Knight and Day). I just wanted to see her fed through a woodchipper. But her annoyance is compensated for and then some by the sheer awesomeness of Willis, Freeman, Malkovich and Mirren. Out of the four lead actors, I liked Malkovich the most and Willis the least. Helen Mirren was cool too, especially when she was in the evening gown firing a machine gun. But it doesn't matter who I liked, they all gave great performances and were what kept the movie from sucking.
The movie did have some pointless moments in the story, but for the most part the narrative remains intact. It's essentially about Frank, Joe, Marvin, and Victoria, all retired CIA agents who find themselves targeted for reasons unknown. Frank takes Sarah, his girlfriend/stalker/?, on the adventure too and her constant questioning gets way too annoying at times. I'm not going to give anything away, but it's quite interesting and holds the attention of the audience without just being mindless action and without boring the audience.
The action scenes were okay, but not what one would expect from a cast of this caliber. Nothing really else to say but that it was good, but slightly underwhelming. I would recommend Red only to some people. Some may not like it, but I thought it was decent.
