Film File - RED
As the evenings draw in and that after-work walk slowly becomes a stroll in the dark, a bit of good old-fashioned action at the cinema might provide a good alternative. Enter Bruce Willis, complete with lopsided grin and a heavy arsenal of serious guns to liven up our lives. Based on the cult DC Comics graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, 'RED’ is an action-comedy also starring Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren - a veteran cast pretty much perfect for the job in hand. Frank Moses (Willis), Joe Matheson (Freeman), Marvin Boggs (Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) were once the CIA’s top agents - but the secrets they know just made them the agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, the group are forced out of retirement to use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their relentless pursuers and stay alive. To combat their would-be assassins, the team embarks on a cross-country mission to break into the CIA headquarters itself, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history. In a season where age has proven no barrier for the likes of Sly Stallone to rediscover his Rambo mojo in 'The Expendables’, Hollywood has followed suit with another actioner aimed at an older audience out for some mindless entertainment in these recessionary times. Despite the presence of teen vampires and 'X-Factor’ type alternatives accounting for most of the cineplex fare these days, the film industry has discovered that there’s still good box office to be had from oldies - but only if the script and the cast are up to scratch. After all, if Clint Eastwood and Michael Caine can still cut the mustard as pensioner avengers in films like 'Gran Torino’ and 'Harry Brown’, why not try for the same results with Brucie and a bunch of 50-something heavyweights. Now classed as RED - Retired and Extremely Dangerous - Moses is a former agent who once toppled governments but now lives in complete retirement in the suburbs wondering if it’s too early for Christmas decorations. The highlight of his days are the telephone conversations with Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), the clerk who mails his pension cheques. Into this idyllic retirement comes trouble one day when a team of SWAT goons arrives to kill Frank. Proving he’s still got the cojones to beat off the bad boys, Frank is forced to reassemble his former secret operatives for one last job. Director Robert Schwentke and screenwriters Jon and Eric Hoeber deliver a smartly crafted flick where the veteran stars probably did most of the work for them. Morgan Freeman, Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox combine well in this action 'Bucket List’-type outing, as does Malkovich in the role of team conspiracy junkie just the right side of bearable. Best of the cast is Mirren, the former sniper lured out of retirement as the gang’s well-proportioned eye candy - a role the 65-yea- old clearly relished. Fresh from nabbing an Oscar for her regal interpretation of HRH Elizabeth II in 'The Queen’, Mirren admitted she based some of her portrayal on style guru Martha Stewart for “her gracious intelligence combined with a steely determination” to create the lethal but elegant ex-agent. 'RED’ is great fun and not too taxing on the brain - a perfect alternative to the economic gloom that currently surrounds us.