RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous)

Graphic novels turned movies is the fad these days. Count 'em and they are racking them up faster than Shake Rattle and Roll can give its 12th installment.

The latest of the variety is RED starring a bunch of veteran actors in Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren.

The Plot:

RED CIA agents are suddenly being exterminated for an unknown reason. Frank Moses (Willis) is one of them, a former CIA black ops agent who is rather bored of his retirement, filling most of his time with inappropriate calls to an insurance a company help desk operator.

Unexpectedly, he becomes a target for extermination along with several other retired agents. banding together, the group goes deep into the mystery behind the killings and trace it back to the Vice President who is running for the presidency and apparently wants to clear all untoward incidents that may be traced back to his name. The REDs were a part of that single extermination in the 1980s where the current VP was involved. A simple twist apparently exists in the end, which even a ten year old can assume ten minutes into the movie.

The Good:

1. The Cast. With this movie, I can sense this conversation took place.

Bruce: Why don't we make a movie where all the old guys can carry guns?

Malkovich: I want a magnum. Anything less, I wont sign. And a big room of guns.

Mirren: Yes, I will do it if I get to be sniper.

Freeman: Can I still kick some ass, I usually just say something cool and it works all the time.

Bruce: Yeah let's do this mutherfucker.

2. John Malkovich. He triumphs as the icebreaker of the whole film. To his straight faced unintentional jokes to his crazy hair and get up, malkovich fits the bill of the deranges retiree who is still consumed by the paranoia of it all.

3. Helen Mirren and her gun. Be it her sniper or that big-assed 30 caliber gun which had to be screwed to the ground, Helen Mirren is a sight to behold as a kick ass assassin. She sure wears and looks the part and hell, she even looks like she is having a blast. Must have been a vacation after all those medieval period pieces she has been appearing in the past years.

The Bad:

1. Too predictable. The trailer screams the whole movie and ten minutes in, the twist int he eand is a dead giveaway. And yes, we've seen Bruce Willis kick ass and be the strong silent hero that he is, so it does not offer much than the Good I have mentioned above.