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RED

Starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren
Directed by: Robert Schwentke
Written by: John Hoeber and Erich Hoeber
   
      Who would have ever thought that this cast would ever play roles as retired CIA agents called back into action?  Who would have ever thought that Helen Mirren would be in an action comedy?  I certainly wouldn't have but I was certainly entertained by this film.
      This is an exciting film based on a graphic novel from DC comics called RED: Retired Extremely Dangerous.  When I first heard about this, I questioned how something like this would work because the actors they chose for these roles are not actually old.  The cool thing is that this cast works well together considering that they are all really big names.  We are seeing the rise of movies with "all-star" casts these days and this is no exception.  Great actors like Willis and Malkovich together with an interesting script put together by John and Erich Hoeber equals a movie worth seeing. 
      The last time I saw Morgan Freeman in an action movie was his role as the head of the Fraternity in the movie "Wanted".  For the very short time he was in "RED", he was excellent, playing the oldest member of this retired CIA group who lives in a retirement home.  However, this was one of my many complaints about the movie because Freeman was in the entire movie for probably ten minutes at the most.  I also don't like how we don't meet many of the characters except for Frank Moses (Willis) and Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker) at the beginning of the film.  I would have liked Helen Mirren's character Victoria and John Malkovich's character Marvin Boggs earlier in the movie than when they are introduced. 
      Another problem I had is the sets that were used.  The scenes in Chicago take place at a hotel called the Fairmont Royal York.  There is no such hotel in Chicago rather it is in Toronto, Canada.  But there is a fairmont in Chicago, just not the Royal York.  The film jumps around to different cities, and for the most part it's pretty clear about where they are, but some places I was not sure.  I don't like when viewers have to guess where the movie takes place. 
      Overall, this film is a lot like "The Losers" except with a better cast and a better story.  It's great entertainment and totally worth seeing.  It's rated PG-13 but it's good for the whole family.  It's funny and has great explosions (I LOVE EXPLOSIONS).  3 and 1/2 stars.

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