Red

Saw Red on a lark last night cos The Star had a free screening going for it at the second home. When I got there, the line was pretty long but I got a pair of passes, albeit ending up in the first two rows (which is not as bad as it used to be). All I can say is that it's based on a comic book series which I've never read before, but the title is short for "Retired, Extremely Dangerous" which I thought is pretty handy.

It's about retired CIA black ops dude Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) who spends his retirement flirting with his pension service representative Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker; or MLP for short for the purpose of this post) on the phone (among other things) until a hit squad tries to take him out and fails. Because he had been on surveillance, he then rescues the very reluctant MLP and goes to visit God... err, Morgan Freeman at the retirement home and long story short, there's a hit list involved. On his tail is Karl Urban (who looks more yuppie than dangerous) who has his orders to find and kill the old guy. Along the way Frank collects other old people members of the old team and tries to clear their names before they get killed.

Now, for the random thoughts...

• I just realised that I've never seen any Bruce Willis movies in recent memory
• Anyone knew Ernest Borgnine was still alive? I didn't, but good to know :P
• Dame Helen Mirren with big guns? EPIC
• Read somewhere that Dame Helen was channeling Martha Stewart in this movie. Then I sobered up at the thought of Martha Stewart as a marksman O.O
• Never seen clean-shaven Karl Urban in a suit before. Man indeed has "cute hair", haha.
• The big fight between Cooper and Moses in the CIA was not too shabby. Looks painful.
• I also didn't know Julian McMahon is also in the movie, even if it was pretty late in the movie.
• Also never seen MLP in a big budget movie before that's released here. No, I never saw Weeds.
• Not to ignore Malkovich, but if you like him, you like him - funny as heck in this one as the hypervigilant, paranoid Marvin who lives in an underground bunker.

Overall, it's a fun action movie that's a little late for summer, but what the heck. For me, the sight of Dame Helen playing with guns alone is worth the price of entry :)

Badass, no?