Red 2 2013

B

The original Red was a nice surprise for me, with great performances, action, and comedy. I knew Red 2 was not as well received, but I wanted to see it anyway. While very similar to the first, the sequel does sag a little. To make it bigger and better, there are even more unbelievable shootouts and fights while at the same time, Bruce Willis, who has been able to overpower tons of agents while handcuffed to a table, somehow can’t overpower one old man. I realize it isn’t always supposed to be realistic, but it kind of hurts the story. Being a sequel, the tension is kind of minimal, with the movie being so light you know how things have to go. It is great to see Catherine Zeta-Jones, but her character doesn’t quite work as a Natasha-like Russian agent (she is awfully tan for a Russian, or even for Catherine Zeta-Jones). Still it is great seing a fantastic cast chew up scenes, with some great fights and stunts, and a lot of trickery to keep you guessing even if the plot itself has been done a million times before and the relationship stuff doesn’t really work. The Blu-ray has some decent interviews about making the movie and some of the writing in regards to the weapons, but not much detail on the production. The credits show that a CIA receptionist named Kelly at the beginning of the movie is Bruce Willis’ wife.

Written: 07 Sep 2019

Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital