Red

OPENING: 10/15/2010

STUDIO: Summit Entertainment

RUN TIME: 111 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Still armed. Still Dangerous. Still got it.

Opening Statement
No matter how underwhelming the buzz was, I couldn’t help but get a little excited about seeing Red, a new action flick which assembles an all-star cast that includes Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Brian Cox, Karl Urban, Richard Dreyfus, Mary-Louise Parker and even Ernest Borgnine. That’s a pretty huge collection of talent, which makes it all the more disappointing that Red is a rather underwhelming motion picture.

Facts of the Case
The central figure of our story is Frank Moses (Bruce Willis, Die Hard), a retired CIA operative who spends his days thinking of reasons to talk to his pension service worker Sarah Ross (Mary Louise-Parker, Weeds). Over the years, they’ve developed something of a vaguely romantic relationship, though neither has ever acknowledged that fact. One day, Frank’s peaceful existence is violently interrupted when a team of assassins attempt to take his life. Frank immediately realizes that this is due to his slightly-too-intimate friendship with Sarah, which is apparently regarded by the CIA as a security risk. Frank travels to Kansas City, abducts Sarah and then tries to explain that he’s doing this because her life is in danger. Not the most effective way to tell a woman you love her, to be sure.

Realizing that he’s going to need help if he’s going to take on the vast resources of the CIA, Frank recruits some old pals from past missions: Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby), Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich, Dangerous Liasons), Victoria (Helen Mirren, The Queen) and Ivan Simanov (Brian Cox, Deadwood). Together, Frank and his old pals dig around until they discover who is responsible for the attempted assassination.

The Evidence
With the ever-increasing stream of graphic novel adaptations hitting cinemas these days, it’s kind of amazing that it took this long for someone to tackle the works of acclaimed writer Warren Ellis. It’s equally surprising that the first project chosen for the big-screen treatment was Red, a relatively little-known work in comparison to achievements like The Authority, Planetary and Transmetropolitan. What’s most surprising of all is that the film version of Red has little to do with the comic. The book is a grim, fast-paced story about a lonely hitman getting revenge after a failed attempt on his life. The film gives Frank a friendlier personality, a lot of buddies and an almost entirely different plot to work with. Essentially, the film is faithful to its source material for about ten minutes before it veers off in its own direction. What could have been a lean, mean, efficient thriller is instead a rambling, cheerful, overstuffed thriller.

Honestly, I’m okay with that. The book is good, but it’s hardly a masterpiece that shouldn’t be tampered with. The film’s Grumpy Old Men inspired element is a promising idea, but the execution is clumsy and rarely becomes very interesting. The film seems to have the idea that piling lots of talented people into a generic story will somehow enliven it. Unfortunately, that happens far too little. Instead, we end up with a lot of scenes in which Oscar-caliber actors stand around smiling and winking at the audience, seemingly pleased with the fact that they’re getting to unwind and do the sort of thing they’re not asked to do much anymore.

The one noteworthy theme the film draws from the book is the conflict between two different generations of CIA operatives: the “old-school” tough guys and the hot-shot newcomers with all their technology, cell phones and fancy haircuts. The “old pros beat up on some young whippersnappers” plot is definitely aimed at an elderly audience, particularly when you consider that the primary representative for the young whippersnappers is Karl Urban (who is almost 40 years old). For the most part, the film plays like the rare action movie geared at aging viewers–not in its maturity level, but in the somewhat sedate, relaxed way in which the story unwinds. That would be all well and good were it not for the fact that the action scenes are shot in a typically hyperactive manner, giving the movie severe pacing problems. Just when it seems as if things are heating up, the film decides to calm down again.

I’ve noted that the film has an excellent cast, but one of the cast members is perhaps Red’s biggest liability: Bruce Willis. Is it just me, or does it seem like Willis simply doesn’t care about his profession much anymore? The past decade or so (with rare exceptions like Unbreakable and Sin City) has offered one lazy, uninteresting Willis performance after another, with the actor frequently hitting autopilot and falling back on his patented brand of subdued smugness. He doesn’t inhabit the role of Frank Moses so much as stroll through it, rarely bothering to invest anything substantial into his scenes. The fact that he appears in pretty nearly every scene in the film hurts Red significantly; he doesn’t give the other actors anything compelling to play off of.

Nobody’s going to win any awards for this thing, but it’s John Malkovich who walks away with the show. His looney performance provides the film with a few genuine laughs; a solid mainstream effort from the actor after a bad turn in Jonah Hex and a mixed one in Secretariat. Helen Mirren does what she can with a one-joke character (she’s a proper English lady who shoots people!), while Morgan Freeman just looks happy to have been invited to the party (he’s probably the most thoroughly wasted member of the cast). Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws) and Brian Cox have a good time chewing on their handful of scenes, while Karl Urban (Star Trek) and Rebecca Pidgeon (The Spanish Prisoner) capably deal with less colorful roles. Mary Louise-Parker is splendid in her early scenes as Frank’s conflicted would-be lover, but is quickly turned into the damsel in distress and then largely ignored for the remainder of the film’s running time. Finally, Ernest Borgnine brings a smile to the audience just by turning up and reminding us that he’s still alive.

Closing Statement
Red is a friendly flick that only wants to be liked, and given my feelings towards the cast I was willing to forgive some clichés and just enjoy the ride. Alas, there are too few pleasures offered to make this generic movie worth your ten bucks. Wait until it turns up on cable.

The Verdict
5/10

Wanted

Opening Date: 06/27/2008

STUDIO: Universal

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge

Choose your destiny.

Opening Statement

Under a gorgeous full moon, the Los Angeles Film Festival kicked off tonight with a picture that unceremoniously shoves Jon Favreau’s Iron Man aside and grabs the summer box office by the balls. I’m referring to director Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted, a mind-bending roller coaster ride who’s inherent replayability will draw audiences into the theaters in droves.

Facts of the Case

Wesley Alan Gibson (James McAvoy) is a schlub. He’s mired in a career he hates, his girlfriend is schtuping his best friend, and he’s suffering massive, uncontrollable panic attacks. But just when things look like they can’t get any worse, the universe throws Wesley a sucker punch, when a mysterious woman (Angelina Jolie) shows up in the drug store to save him from an unforeseen assailant. It seems our reluctant hero is descended from a long line of assassins, born into a secret society. The only problem is, one of their own has gone AWOL and begun vengefully picking off the rest, beginning with Wesley’s father. With our hero’s head on the block, it’s up to this reclusive cabal — lead by the intensely driven Sloan (Morgan Freeman) — to take in said schlub, unlock his full potential, and set him loose to destroy their former colleague (Thomas Kretschmann).

The Evidence

Wow… I saw the film hours ago and the buzz has yet to wear off. If you are averse to brutal violence, gun play, and cruelty to animals, Wanted isn’t your bag. For everyone else, strap yourselves in for one hell of a ride.

Bekmambetov taps into something universal here — our innate unhappiness as human beings. When has anyone not felt shat upon or treated like cattle to the slaughter, wasting our lives on unimportant bullshit because that’s what we’re supposed to do? Whether it be our families, partners, children, co-workers, or friends, our lives rarely seem under our own control; playing out each day very much like the last, like hamsters on a treadwheel. Wanted is a call to revolution, to break the bonds of our mundane, unfulfilled existence and do something important with our time, whatever that may be. Okay, so it’s fictional, but the empowering message is still the same…

“It a choice, Wesley, that each of us must face: to remain ordinary, pathetic, beat-down, coasting through a miserable existence, like sheep herded by fate, or take control of your own destiny and join us, releasing the caged wolf you have locked inside, with a key you already hold.” –Sloan

Based on the six-issue Top Cow comic book series by writer Mark Millar (Marvel’s Civil War) and artist JG Jones (DC’s Final Crisis), the screenwriting team of Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, and Chris Morgan — who gave us the remake of 3:10 to Yuma and The Fast and the Furious sequels — have taken a rather bombastic superhero vs. supervillains tale and grounded it in modern day reality. Jettisoning much of the original storyline, one might fear this to be a stale studio blockbuster with lots of flash and no substance. Thankfully, it’s not. The story takes interesting twists and turns throughout its 110 min runtime. Most work, some fail miserably, but by the time the picture ends, you really don’t care, because you’ve been taken places and seen things we’ve never experienced on film before. And that’s what the motion picture business is all about; something far too many studio executives and creative types have forsaken in their quest for big box office returns.

Russian-born Bekmambetov, the man who gave us Night Watch, Day Watch, and the forthcoming Twilight Watch is nothing short of visionary. His use of sound, light, and movement are so striking, it conjures sense memories of being in a movie theater for the very first time, where everything is a discovery. For example, I don’t recall a film where the character’s faces played such a dominant role, which puts a huge burden on the actors. They must be completely invested in the scene; actively listening, emotionally available, and presenting maximum exposure of the eyes to the camera at all times. These are three things drilled into us as actors and each is fully exploited here. Just focus in on James, Morgan, or Angelina at any given time and you’ll see what I mean. You can see and feel the mind churning behind those eyes.

James McAvoy does an exceptional job with a character that could very easily be ruined in the hands of a less gifted actor. He’s not perfect, and those moments stand out like sore thumbs, but the overall journey Wesley takes is what we’re hooked into. Morgan Freeman is as cool as ever, with some great one liners that are sure to wind up on t-shirts. And I’ve realized what it is about Angelina Jolie that’s so mesmerizing. She’s not drop dead gorgeous, but she’s so connected with who she is and what she’s capable of, that the character she’s portraying leaps right off the screen. It’s goddamn sexy and you can’t help but be drawn in. Even Terence Stamp, another actor who knows himself to his core, steps in for a brief yet effective role.

But the film is not without its flaws. Wanted does demand a healthy suspension of disbelief and an ability to forgive several story transitions that just don’t play. One of the most egregious is Wesley’s transition from doubt-filled trainee to prime time player. It’s awkward and forced, as if the screenwriting trio said “We need to pick up the pace here. Let’s plug in a Rocky-esque montage.” And yet, while that scene doesn’t work, once we’re onto the next sequence, you’ve already forgotten about it; which is one of the greatest compliments you can pay a film. We are so invested in these characters from the very beginning that we’re able to forgive missteps that would take us out of most any other filmgoing experience.

And what an experience this is. Props to Danny Elfman who rocks a score so seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the film there are times you don’t even know it’s there. Kudos to cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen who blends what he learned on Transformers and Transporter 2 into a Matrix-like world that’s even more believable than what the Wachowskis boys offered up. Part of this is due to its location shooting. I love the way Bekmambetov uses Chicago as a living, breathing character. Granted, this may be due in part to my trading my beloved hometown for the benefits of Southern California, but this is without question the best the city has looked on the big screen since Andy Davis directed The Fugitive. And special credit to editors David Brenner and Dallas Puett for never letting us rest too long between action set pieces. This is one film that will exhaust and energize you at the same time.

Closing Remarks

Raising the bar on the summer movie scene, Timur Bekmambetov and his team have delivered a guaranteed crowd pleaser. There’s part of me that sincerely hopes Universal will allow this picture to stand on its own and not attempt to milk a franchise out of it. But, regardless of what happens down the road, Wanted is a rock-em sock-em good time that’ll leave you grinning from ear to ear.

The Verdict

9/10