RED 2

My quick rating - 7,1/10. The over the hill spies are at it again. The first movie was thoroughly enjoyable and I have to say this sequel is on par with the first. Quality action scenes edited together very well to keep the motion going without getting lost. Actors put in enough character to drive the spy-game storyline through enough to make you care about it and not just sit back and watch guns blaze. Anthony Hopkins character was exceptionally well done and was a needed jolt into the flick for sure. It is a rare occasion that you can say the sequel may have been better then the first but.....

Well, I will have to let you decide that one. All and all a well made picture.

Red 2 is a good movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a terrific cast. It's a lot of fun, simple as that, the whole cast seem to be enjoying themselves and because of that I had a fun time watching it, it's a lot funnier than the original, does not take itself as seriously, much lighter on character development. The story is very simple and straight forward, but a star studded cast that includes Bruce Willis, John Malcovich, Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins make this a very enjoyable two hours. I did feel the story was really lacking in depth, it just seems to move along piece by piece, no moment is really significant or gratifying for the audience, it never tried to make this sequel stand out on its own. I did not enjoy the love issues which erupt between Frank and Sarah as a result of Catherine Zeta-Jones' character, it all felt very forced and created an annoying persona for Mary Louise Parker, making her nowhere near as cool as or likable as she was in the original, she was a strong character then, here she is simply a love interest. It certainly has its flaws but Red 2 mostly makes up for it with its pure fun and optimistic cast, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good action or comedy.

A retired secret agent and his girlfriend get dragged in to a race to find a nuclear bomb.

Best Performance: Anthony Hopkins

All you can eat action,car chases, explosions, old timers fun, traveling across Europe and the US.Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis and John Malkovich is John Malkovich.Great actors, having fun in this action thriller that will not keep you on the edge of the chair,yet will put a smile and occasional laugh on you face.As one tries to compare to the original,some feelings of disappointment may crawl your thoughts.With that said this great team with Helen Mirren and others are great fun for almost 2 hours of CIA/MI6/KGB/FBI playing as well unorganized orchestra together and one against each other.No one better than Anthony Hopkins to cast to his specific role.He is brilliant!

Red 2, like the original Red, is not meant to be taken seriously. In many of my other reviews I come down hard for ridiculous plot lines and lack of believability, but this flick was never intended to be taken seriously on any level. It is a comical take on action/spy movies and so it matters not what liberties are taken.

If you enjoy Bruce Willis being Bruce Willis, you like non-stop action and you are in the mood for some mindless entertainment, it is worth a watch. No thinking required.

Personally, I enjoyed the original Red and I like watching the "old codgers" play it up on the action scene. Yes, Helen Mirren is certainly getting old, but she still exudes sex appeal (which has little to do with age or looks) and she is amazingly credible as an action hero. I'd love to see her star in some serious action/spy films.

Malkovich is his usual self and plays a small uninspired role. The surprise for me was Anthony Hopkins. He didn't have too much to do here, but more than I thought. He could have fluffed his way through a film like this, but he took the role as seriously as any other and his performance enhanced the film.

The humor in this one is not side splitting but it works. They could have hit us over the head with tired, old-timer gags but they were smart and didn't really go that route in this sequel. Overall, I have seen far, far worse in this genre.

Just remember this is an over-the-top kind of movie. It's not even close to a typical action comedy. This one has more unbelievable fights, gunfire, chases and general absurdities than five garden variety action flicks combined. I usually don't like super-action movies with nothing but explosions and bullets every two seconds, but in this film the action works and the light comedy keeps pace with it.

Watch Red 2 when you want to shut down your brain for a little while and relax with some good old American, explosive, violent, unapologetic, save-the-world, comedic entertainment.

Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and his retired but extremely dangerous operatives are back to face danger again. There's a nuclear threat to be snuffed out but things really could go either way...

It's pretty much more of the same really, which apparently hasn't been enough for some critics who wanted a different movie. It's not as if this is lazy, yes it's still Frank and his aged assassins fighting old age as well as an outside threat, but there's a flip-flop in plotting and the additions of Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee and Catherine Zeta-Jones are most welcome. It's also so nice to see the adorable Mary-Louise Parker get a substantial part this go around, while Helen Mirren (still sexy and gorgeous in her late 60s) is delightfully sociopathic!

Red 2 is full to the brim with acting talent who are in on the fun joke of it all. Action is never in short supply and the pace is never allowed to sag by director Dean Parisot. The characters remain strong thanks to the screenplay (Jon and Erich Hoeber) and the airy humour is consistent and keeps the violence grounded. Basically, this is a hugely enjoyable ball of action based froth. 7/10