Red 2 (2013)

Dean Parisot

Written by Joel & Erich Hoeber

Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary Louise Parker, Helen Mirren,   Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta Jones, Byung Hun Lee, Brian Cox, Neal McDonaugh, David Thlewis.

Some years after the events of the first film, Frank Moses (Willis), now lives with Sarah (Parker) is yet again called out of retirement with Marvin (Malkovich). They have been named as members of a decades old group called Operation Nightshade – who planted a devastating bomb somewhere, and are now considered domestic terrorists.

Their mission leads them to re-team with Victoria (Mirren), who now has been hired to kill Frank and Marvin. They also come across; Katja (Zeta Jones) an old flame of Frank’s, Dr Bailey (Hopkins), a scientist who has been locked in a mental institution for 32 years, and Han Cho Bai (Lee) a world class assassin with a vendetta against Frank.

A bit of a clunky script this time round, with a too many new characters thrown into the mix, most of who are poorly written, a bit too cliché or just unlikeable. Even established characters like Sarah seem written a little differently too, and not for the better.

There are so many double crosses, and team deflections that it almost becomes a little too much, even if the film never really tries too much to take itself seriously.

While the first film felt it was constructed a little better, the direction doesn’t have the same excitement that the first film did, what should have been well constructed action scenes have poor cinematography. Some of the car chases, instead of focusing on the vehicles, have close shots of the drivers with their ‘witty’ dialogue.

The main villain is fairly predictable, where the entire film is only ok, and pales in comparison to the first.

3/5