RED 2 (2013)

You don't have to see RED first, but it is awfully cute. The title stands for Retired and Extremely Dangerous, so as you might expect from watching the preview and seeing the cast list, this is one of those "old guys still got it" movies. In general, I love these movies, and with RED and RED 2 I was just as entertained as I'd expected to be. Ironically, the youngest man in the bunch, Bruce Willis, is the lead. I never think of him as being of retirement age, but here he stands among older old-timers: John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and Anthony Hopkins.As you know from the first movie, the gang is a bunch of retired CIA agents who are fighting to stay alive, because they know some pretty dangerous state secrets. Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker are still completely adorable together in the film, and when his ex-flame Catherine Zeta-Jones shows up, Mary-Louise gets pretty jealous! Joining the cast for the sequel are Neal McDonough and Byung-hun Lee, so ladies, you'll get plenty of eye candy in this one!RED 2 is just as funny, delightful, romantic, and exciting as the first movie. It's chalk-full of hilarious one-liners and thrilling action scenes, so buckle up and get ready for a very fun movie night!

More of the same, baby. That's a good thing in this case as we rejoin ex assassin Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and his merry band of morons for another set of high caliber swashbuckling, this one even sillier than their first picnic. The key is in the deadpan humour, which is served up with all the relish needed to make something so fluffy work. Most of the eclectic cast is back for second helpings, and the ones who caught bullets are replaced by even more bankable names and familiar faces here. Moses, his girlfriend (Mary Louise Parker, finally acquiring her sea legs when it comes to warming up to the carnage) and loony old friend Marvin (John Malkovich) find themselves thrown headlong into an arms race to find a deadly super weapon before it's either detonated or acquired by very dangerous people. Leading them along is a frazzled ex MI6 spook and mathematical genius (Anthony Hopkins in silly mode) who has seriously lost his marbles. On their tail is scary CIA psychopath Jack Horton (Neal McDonough nails yet another heinous villain role) who brandishes his silenced pistol with the same verve he uses to flash that icy grin, the last thing you see before the shooting starts. Helen Mirren returns, as does her beau, played again by Brian Cox and his teddy bear worthy Russian accent. Other newcomers include Korean superstar Byung-Hun Lee as an agile and ticked off assassin out to get Moses, Catherine Zeta Jones as a foxy Russian femme fatale and Professor Lupin himself David Thewlis as a snooty arms dealer called The Frog, but not for te reasons you might think. When actors of such skill and notoriety show up in these, it really makes everything else worth it, even if the plot is somewhat up in the clouds, and the mad dash, rat race tone can get a bit too loopy. These pros always keep it grounded when they need to, both with shooting and acting prowess. This one can't quite keep up with how much fun it's predecessor was, but it's certainly more than adequate, especially to see Hopkins, a man of trademark gravitas, give an out of left field (and his mind, really) turn worthy of Jim Carrey and not without a few disarming third act surprises.

Sequels. Sadly most of them are just excuses for lame opportunities to cash in again. This is just that.You know a movie is going to be bad when Anthony Hopkins dials in a terrible performance. His over the top and dial by numbers character isn't believable from the moment he enters. This is a dial it in buddy buddy film, where every scene is predictable in that it will introduce yet another character or a familiar old face just at the right difficult moment. Plot is irrelevant. Make it up as you go along. Just stick to the same formula repeatedly. If you loved RED, you might be amused by the sequel. Just be aware it's more of the same, more unoriginal and the characters you love will need to be around for the next sequel. I give it a generous 5 for some reasonable efforts, a high production value and the immense talent that is wasted in this farce.

My quick rating - 7,1/10. The over the hill spies are at it again. The first movie was thoroughly enjoyable and I have to say this sequel is on par with the first. Quality action scenes edited together very well to keep the motion going without getting lost. Actors put in enough character to drive the spy-game storyline through enough to make you care about it and not just sit back and watch guns blaze. Anthony Hopkins character was exceptionally well done and was a needed jolt into the flick for sure. It is a rare occasion that you can say the sequel may have been better then the first but.....Well, I will have to let you decide that one. All and all a well made picture.