RED 2 review

RED 2:

SILLY ACTION-PACKED FUN AT FULL FORCE THAT’S JUST AS ENTERTAINING AS ITS PREDECESSOR!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT

Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Helen Mirren, Byung Hun-Lee, and Anthony Hopkins are Retired Extremely Dangerous in RED 2

            Bruce Willis (Die Hard franchise, Looper, G.I. Joe: Retaliation), John Malkovich (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Warm Bodies), Mary-Louise Parker (The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, Solitary Man, The Spiderwick Chronicles), and Helen Mirren (The Queen, Hitchcock, State of Play) are back in action in this hilariously entertaining sequel to the 2010 action comedy, RED, based on the comic book series by DC Comics, RED 2, while it isn’t as fleshed out as the first movie, it makes up for it with its talented cast, goofy comedy, and even goofier action scenes.

            Retired black-ops CIA agent, Frank Moses (Willis) is reunited with his unlikely team of “Retired Extremely Dangerous” operatives for a global objective, track down a missing portable nuclear device that can wipe out an entire country. In order to pull off the mission RED must survive relentless assassins, menacing terrorists, and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on this weapon of mass destruction.

            The mission takes Frank and his team of elite operatives to Paris, Moscow, and London. Outgunned and outnumbered they must use their cunning wits, old school attack strategies, and rely on each other as they do whatever it takes to save the world, and stay alive at the same time.

            RED 2 as a whole is a pretty enjoyable sequel to RED, running on comedic dialogue, heavy gunfire, and action that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Besides the action and comedy, RED 2 also brings some new cast members in like Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock, Thor, The Wolfman) as the film’s antagonist, Edward Bailey, Byung Hun-Lee (G.I. Joe) as a vengeful assassin from Hong Kong, Han Cho Bai, and Catherine Zeta-Jones (The Mask of Zorro, Rock of Ages) as Frank’s old lover and professional killer, Katya.

            While I enjoyed the sequel, I wouldn’t consider it better than the predecessor, RED I just thought it was executed a little better, had more witty dialogue, and plus Morgan Freeman was in it. I’m not saying RED 2 was bad or mediocre; overall it’s a very fun sequel filled with action and humor, and it should satisfy fans of the first movie and the comic books.