RED - bit of a let down

This was certainly a film to be excited about. Talk about a top quality cast and some kick-arse trailers, the bit in the trailer where Helen Mirren starts shooting a minigun gave me a strange reaction. At first I would disappointed to see that one of Britain's great actresses had decided to give into the pressure and take the Hollywood paycheque, but then I thought that there's actually something glorious in seeing a RADA luminary live the action film cliché. Well, let's say I had high hopes.

My understanding is that the film is based on a comic book. This makes sense as there are a lot of contrivances in the story that don't stand up in the real world. For a start, the opening 15 minutes focuses on a Bruce Willis connecting with a woman (Mary Louise Parker) who works in the social security office. He keeps on pretending that they've not sent him any pensions cheques as a pretence for calling her. Somehow she thinks this is charming and ends up falling for him when they finally meet (he breaks into her house while being chased by some kind of SWAT team). They then go on a trip around America - you can tell they're travelling places from all the post cards that say things like 'Delaware' on them - having hi-jinx and meeting all Willis' ex-CIA goons; Malkovich, Freeman and Mirren.

This gang then uncover a plot to kill them all, so they have to kill the US Vice President while chatting up Russians, winding up arms dealers and firing a huge amount of ordinance. It's a bit funny (John Malvovich especially) and fairly silly but all incredibly forced. Just not as good as I had expected it to be. Maybe that's because I saw it on Saturday morning when I thought I'd get a bargain matinee ticket but didn't (you only get bargain matinee at Showcase on weekdays - what use is that?!), but I was left fairly nonplussed.