RED 2
Once again, Mary-Louise Parker is the unquestioned MVP of the “RED” franchise. Based on the comic series by Warren Ellis, “RED” continues to deliver action-packed adventure with more humor and excitement than Stallone’s “Expendables” franchise has mustered, and a huge part of that is Parker as Sarah. In the last film, she was a bystander caught in the crossfire, literally, who found herself completely smitten with Bruce Willis’s retired CIA specialist, Frank Moses. Over the course of their adventures, they fell in love, and she became an integral part of his work.
There’s something more about Sarah, though, and it’s what really sets the “RED” films apart from other action franchises. As I said in my review for the first film, “She isn’t your average action movie squeeze. She’s a bit quirky, and after being initially frightened by the predicament she’s in, she’s kind of excited about the possibilities.” As the second film starts, Frank is completely domesticated– he wants to settle down, and keep Sarah from getting into any danger. Sarah, however, is bored with the quiet life Frank is trying to give her, so when Marvin (the great John Malkovich, the series’s OTHER ace up its sleeve) finds Frank at Costco, and tries to get him back in the game, she’s ready to dive head long into the action, especially when it looks as though Frank and Marvin are being set up for a Cold War crime that happened 32 years ago. Frank has valid reasons for fearing for her safety: not only is his good friend Victoria (Dame Helen Mirren) hired to take them out, but he also has to face an old foe, Han (Byung-hun Lee), who has accepted the same contract. It’s hard being a Black Ops agent trying to get out of the business.
The screenplay by Jon and Erich Hoeber, who also wrote the first film, captures a lot of the same magic that made the first movie such a sly treat, as well as adding some rich material for everyone to play off of. Best of the new additions was Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Russian spy who also happens to be an ex-flame of Frank’s; the dynamic between her and Parker leads to my favorite line of Sarah’s, delivered perfectly with the right blend of mirth and malice by the actress. There’s a lot that really stands out in this film– namely, how much more fun Willis seems to be here than he was in that last “Die Hard” film, and how that fun permuates through the cast –that it feels criminal to focus almost exclusively on Parker, but she really feels like the beating heart of this franchise, in a way. Yes, it’s based on a comic book series, and yes, there’s a lot of action in it (and believe me, the action rocks here), but it’s the personal relationships between the characters, and especially the chemistry between Willis, Parker, and Malkovich, that keeps this franchise purring like a well-oiled, albeit kind of crazy, machine. My only hesitation is that I don’t want these guys to push their luck with a third film, in case things start to fall flat. Still, compared to other sequel prospects on the horizon, I’d rather see a potential “RED 3” that didn’t work than some of the needless crap coming down the pipe, if only because I enjoy the company more.
