Director: Dean Parisot
Writer: Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber (Screenplay) Warren Ellis, Cully Hamner (Graphic Novel)
Starring: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Neal McDonough, David Thewlis
Plot: Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Sequel
Story: RED 2 starts as we follow the now couple Frank Moses (Willis) and Sarah (Parker) as Frank desperately tries play house while Sarah wants adventure when Marvin (Malkovich) returns to their lives. When Marvin fakes his death once more he learns that himself and Frank are being framed for a mission they were never part of, these leads to the adventure Sarah and Frank need to rekindle their relationship.
When Jack Horton (McDonough) recruits a former friend Han Cho Bai (Lee) to take him out to clean up the mess we see the governments of the world working to retrieve the information before any other countries do which brings back Victoria (Mirren). We also have Russian agent Katja (Jones) as they search for a guy called The Frog (Thewlis) who will lead them to the answers.
RED 2 is an improvement on the original because we are now taking on the developed characters from the first film, we know they had missions before retiring which throws us straight into the new mission. On the negative we do feel like we are repeating the same elements we saw in the first film. This is again just an easy film to follow that can be enjoyed.
Actor Review
Bruce Willis: Frank is now trying to play house and live a normal life with Sarah when the past he still tries to escape catches up with. Frank must go on another mission with Marvin with Sarah tagging along with an ex-girlfriend getting in the way he must uncover the truth about a secret mission he went on. Bruce seems to come off slightly stronger in this performance unlike his last outing.
John Malkovich: Marvin is the first one to suspect something going on and his paranoia doesn’t help along the way. He tries to be there for Frank whether he needs advice about his relationship and is always good for weapon of choice. John continues to be the funniest part of the film.
Mary-Louise Parker: Sarah is the girlfriend of Frank who is looking for the adventure that sparked their relationship in the first place. When Marvin turns up she jumps at the chance to go on this latest mission but this time she has to deal with a rival woman from Frank’s past. Mary-Louise is good in this role that does add another dimension to her character.
Helen Mirren: Victoria is the MI6 agent that works with Frank to find the truth which does include turning her back on her own country. Helen is good with her parts but we don’t see her enough compared to the first film.
Support Cast: RED 2 has a big supporting cast with well-known names in the business including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins and Byung-hun Lee who all bring great addition to the sequel to show just how many added characters could be put into this story.
Director Review: Dean Parisot – Dean adds a lot to this crime comedy where we do get a much more enjoyable movie all around.
Action: RED 2 has good action going on throughout with one way over the top shoot out destroying a street of cars.
Comedy: RED 2 does have added comedy this time with the idea that Sarah gets jealous of Frank’s ex-girlfriend while Malkovich still steals the scenes.
Crime: RED 2 does bring us into a string of different law enforcements trying to take down Frank because of the crimes he might have committed.
Settings: RED 2 takes us around Europe for the settings which all work t make the story more engrossing.
Special Effects: RED 2 has good special effects to show us just how to make action work without turning to them too often.
Suggestion: RED 2 is one that I think people will enjoy but I do think you have to watch through the first one. (Try It)
Best Part: Malkovich still shines.
Worst Part: The way the story unfolds feels like we have see it before.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $84 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Million
Tagline: The best never rest.
Overall: Very enjoyable sequel that shows this was going in the right direction.
Rating
