Seeing RED

Fiorella loves RED. You know, the Boomer movie starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman as retired spies targeted by the CIA. (Should mention that Ernest Borgnine has a cameo role too.)

Intrigued by the TV commercials, she and Husband rented it for the evening, prepared to be disappointed, but after they got over the improbability of the story--the impossibility, actually, they enjoyed every minute of it. The plot is anchored by Bruce Willis, whose only social outlet is a telephone relationship with young Mary-Louise Parker, who longs for adventure. When someone tries to kill Willis, he enlists former associates Malkovich, Mirren, and Freeman, whom he realizes are also targets, to find out what's going on. Parker comes along for the ride, at first unwillingly, then with enthusiasm.

There are a lot of explosions and a lot of people get killed, but the only one of them you really care about is Morgan Freeman, who dies, is resurrected, then dies again (nobly). Willis underplays his part perfectly, Malkovich overplays perfectly, Mirren is Queen Elizabeth with an AK47, and Freeman is Freeman. The big surprise is that Parker holds her own against the star-power cast.

Red is a feel-good movie in the spirit of True Lies and Undercover Blues. We're buying a copy for ourselves.