Even old geezers can kick some serious ass—well, at least that’s what the filmmakers behind the latest DC comic book adaptation Red are trying to show here, and they almost pull it off. In the vein of the recent The Expendables and ahem, Space Cowboys, director Robert Schwentke manages to group together an all-star ensemble cast (including Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman) for a relatively entertaining, if a little uneven, “old timers” tale with a contemporary twist—cue lots of snazzy editing, stylized fighting scenes and quirky, hip humor.Willis headlines as Frank Moses, who’s a classified “R.E.D.” (that’s Retired and Extremely Dangerous to you), who’s been pulled out of his idyllic, retired life after some covert forces come a-shooting at his house and blowing it to smithereens. Moses is apparently an ex-CIA agent who’s been targeted for assassination by the Vice President, and now he’s on the run, along with potential girlfriend Sarah Ross (a bubbly and funny Mary-Louise Parker), the government bureaucrat who’s responsible for administering his retirement benefits, and whom he’s been “dating” over the phone. Soon, Moses and Ross are meeting with the other ex-agents, including oddball Marvin (a brilliant Malkovich), who’s so paranoid, he has a fake house built to serve as a decoy for where he actually hides out; while Freeman and Mirren (effervescent as ever) join in the fun later on as the older, wise one and the gun specialist respectively.There’s a whole lot of shooting and explosions, this being an action film, but there’s also some laughs as the ageing spies show they still have what it takes in their showdown with the film’s villains, led by the unpredictable casting of Rebecca Pidgeon and Richard Dreyfuss. But the film doesn’t take itself too seriously either, which is great, although director Robert Schwentke loses his focus along the way and parts of the movie feel a tad slapdash. But thanks to a brilliant cast, Red is one of this year’s more inspired actioners (The Expendables was pretty blah, to be honest), and quite a blast from the get go (considering their age, that is).
