Movie review: Red

When I first saw the preview for this a couple months ago, it made me giggle and really really want to see it, because it looked like everything an action movie should be: lots of stuff blowing up, lots of gunfights, some witty dialogue, and just a whole lot of fun.

Red totally lived up to that.

First, the really good that I knew would be good: Helen Mirren! Helen Mirren, in a white evening gown, with a really big gun! Morgan Freeman! Morgan Freeman as an old retired assassin!

Next, the surprisingly good: Bruce Willis as a bored retiree is, as it turns out, kind of awesome. He's aged pretty well, which I think is part of what made it work so well. The cinematography was actually really good - the film is (very loosely) based on a comic book, and the opening of the film captured that really well. The fight scenes were all pretty goofy but in a good way. John Malkovich was, I thought, incredible in his role as a crazy man. There was a relationship between a woman and a somewhat older man which was handled surprisingly well - it wasn't a Creepy Old Man, and it wasn't some old dude just banging a young blonde or anything.

The meh: The pacing is a bit off, I think - I'm not sure exactly how, but it could've been a bit better.

All together, there's not much to say about it but this: If you're looking for two hours of witty dialogue, fun gunfights, and an overall stupid plot carried by incredibly talented actors (actors of the caliber which action movies can't often get), go see Red. If you're looking for an engaging story or something that will make you think, go see something else (then, at some other time, see Red, because it's just so much *fun*).