RED

Bruce Willis must have had a boring year because this isn’t his usual movie. His most recent movie, “Red”, was full of explosions, large guns, punches to the face, and big movie stars, but it had a really rough time with it’s writing and basic plot line. Willis plays an old, down and out CIA retiree who is trying to get used to a life outside of war. When his retirement is threatened, he has to uncover who is after him and why they are out to destroy his peaceful life.

Frank (Bruce Willis) finds joy in his quiet life by wooing Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), a woman who craves adventure in her boring life. They begin an unusual relationship via phone. Just as this romance begins to bud, turmoil ensues as his old team is targeted as well. As Frank punches and shoots his way through would-be assassins, he gathers his old friends who are retired and just as bored as he is. Through every battle Frank’s team never miss a beat and can solve every, and any problem that faces them.

Frank leads this team through their pasts as they try to figure out why they are being targeted. Joining his team is Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), Victoria (Helen Mirren), and the crazy Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich). They blow their way through police squads, trained soldiers, the CIA headquarters, and eventually the secret service, as if it were child’s play. Whatever is standing in their way, they have the way out as well as a snappy comeback to boot.

The only positive attribute to this movie was John Malkovich. He looked like he had a blast playing his character. He was witty, funny, and after laughing for the first hour being how awful this movie was, Malkovich adds an even quirkier element of humor. If it weren’t for his character, this movie would have been funny for all of the wrong reasons on top of being extremely boring.

The writing and production is unrealistic and extremely over the top, but that can be assumed to be on purpose. In the beginning they may have tried to set that ridiculous tone, but it doesn’t stick. Knowing Bruce Willis and his extraordinary action adventure movies, everything he does is usually seen as believable. In previous movies, the circumstances were over the top but Bruce handled them like it was his normal routine. In “Red,” the two mentalities do not go together. It is only when Malkovich enters the picture that we finally understand that it’s supposed to be funny. This story is nothing but new writing with older movie stars in places where one would normally see a younger, sexier, less clothed actor.

The actors look like they are just hanging out and filming a movie in their backyard. Which can be a great feel to a movie. They have fun playing their parts and make it extra goofy and entertaining. Malkovich did such a wonderful job building off his character’s quirkiness and making it his own. What made this movie bearable was the fact that Malkovich was in it. It’s just too bad that for an entire hour we had to sift through Bruce Willis playing the same character he always plays before getting to the funny stuff.

FINAL GRADE: C