Whoa. How long has it been since I typed a title like THAT?
So... last night, I attended a screening of the latest big screen adaptation of a graphic novel called "Red," originally written by the great Warren Ellis. Here's the lowdown:
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is retired from the C.I.A. He lives a quiet existence that involves... well, not much. He has found himself quite smitten with an operator at the Federal Building in Kansas City that he talks to on the phone, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker). The very night that he decides to get up the nerve to fly up and see her, these pesky little goverment agents show up to kill him for reasons Frank can only imagine. From here, he speeds up his process to see Sarah, as he realizes that she may be in danger as well. What follows is a tale of former friends, evil agencies, and a conspiracy that leads WAY up the ladder. Also in this film are the likes of Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren (that's right, Helen Mirren... Oscar winner for "The Queen" Helen Mirren), Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy from "Star Trek," who was also at the screening I attended... pretty cool guy), Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox (one of the most underrated actors of our time).
As one would expect, there are a lot of bullets that fly around in this film, which comes in at just under two hours. What one does not expect is a story that has a nice heart to it. Willis, as he just about always is, comes off as the coolest cat in the room. As Frank, his portrayal shows both vulnerability to want a normal life and a toughness to protect that and those which he feels to be most important to him. Freeman is always great, Malkovich is always insane, which is VITAL to his role here, Mirren is always the portrait of grace and shows off some great comedic timing. Urban's character, not his performance, was a little off-kilter for this guy, as there were a couple of points where he should have been a bit more stern in his reactions to certain situations (REALLY trying hard not to give too much away here), but that really is my only flaw to what is a film that really knows how to balance violence, comedy, romance, and drama to keep both the men and the women in the audience entertained.
Director Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler's Wife, Flightplan) shows that he can give a comic book feel to a film without it being to comic-ish. There is a bit of action that you know isn't really possible, but it's done in such a way that doesn't come off cheesy at all. With a cast of talent like this to work with, he also did a very good job to spread the spotlight around so it didn't seem like he was letting one star chew too much scenery. As much as Willis is the top billed star here, it very much felt to me like an ensemble picee, with everyone contributing equally to make the story work.
So, I guess on a scale of 1 to 10, I will give "Red" a solid 8, which means "Go see it in first run, and it's even OK to see for a date movie."
I'm actually trying to give this bit another go (even with movies I may watch on Blu-Ray or on TV), so feel free to give YOUR feedback, and make sure to hear all of the latest news and information on sports, movies, music, television, and sports entertainment on The Clubhouse With Rob & Cody, LIVE each and every Tuesday night at 8 Eastern/5 Pacific. Get to it from The Official Show Website and until next time...
BB
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