Rating of
3/4
Second Verse as Good as the First
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/18/13
The reason I found Red 2 to be just as enjoyable as the original film is because, once again, everyone involved looks like they're having a lot of fun. The film delivers the right mix of humor and action - and with this mix of actors (veterans and newcomers alike) it works exceedingly well - even moreso for sequel.
Once again we follow Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) a dangerous operative now trying to live a normal life with his new wife Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) - who is looking for anything but a normal life, wanting in on some of the intrigue and danger that Moses is well-known for. Fortunately the slightly unhinged Marvin (the always wonderful John Malkovich) sniffs out a new plot... moments before his vehicle explodes.
It seems a leaked document that mentions the top secret "Nightshade" has made Moses and Marvin public enemy #1 and everyone is after them: a stone-cold CIA Agent (Neal McDonough), a top-notch international assassin with a grudge against Moses (the talented Byung-hun Lee), the Russians, led by one-time flame of Moses, Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and England's MI-6, who knows someone who can get close to the subjects, Victoria (the killer Helen Mirren). Soon our group is globe-trotting, trying to figure out who leaked the document and reveals that an asset long thought dead has actually been kept prisoner for the last 32 years - the brilliant physicist and "Da Vince of Death" Bailey (Anthony Hopkins).
What makes Red 2 so good is not just the caliber of actors involved, but the fact they have such great chemistry together. It doesn't matter who is on screen - everyone just works so well off one another that pretty much every scene is a good one. Throw in some great visual cues, one-liners and some unforgettable action sequences (Lee in the corner market and the final chase scene are the two standouts for me) and Red 2 is every bit as impressive as the original. Sequels are are almost universally inferior to the original, but Red 2 bucks the trend.
If there is one fault to Red 2 - it's that as smart as it tries to be, it's not that hard to figure out where things are going. It tries to throw some twists out - but they seem half-hearted at best - I found it more interesting when the movie was just being straight-forward - the movie tries too hard at times, but the actors manage to carry it.
When it comes down to it - if you enjoyed the first Red, this lives up to the premise and matches it as far as I'm concerned. Action and comedy fans would serve themselves well by tracking both of these down at once - you won't regret the decision.
