REVIEW: RED (Unfinished/Very Advance Cut) Updated With Thoughts On Final Cut!!

MOVIE
RED

CAST
Bruce Willis, John Malkovich

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
October 15, 2010
(2 months from when I first saw this)

DIRECTOR
Robert Schwentke

STUDIO(S)
Summit Entertainment, DC Comics

RUNNING TIME
(My Screening's Cut/Final Cut)
1 hour 51 minutes



GRADE
A (95)





STARS
***1/2









REVIEW:

Even though it was a rough cut and has two months to be edited before its official release date, Summit Entertainment was kind enough to provide people with passes to see their newest film, RED. RED is based on the Warren Millis graphic novel and starring A list stars like Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. This very special advance screening, which was secretly held in Philadelphia and in other major cities in the country was shown not one, but two (yes, I said two) months before its official release. I was one of the lucky ones to snag a couple of passes to see it. And all I really need to say about it is, and pardon my french, its a kick-ass movie!

Frank Moses is a retired CIA agent who, after a couple of years of not working is still trying to adjust to it. But since he knows to much about the CIA's secrets, Frank's identity has been compromised, has been targeted as a threat to the agency, and is being hunted for assasination. And even worse, he has put the love of his life, Sarah in grave danger. Now Frank must recruit his old CIA team Joe, Marvin, and Victoria in a last effort to survive before his job finds and kills him.

Who would've thought that A.) Helen Mirren could handle a shotgun so beautifully and B.) John Malkovich could be so insanely funny. This is an action film that doesn't take itself seriously at all and a comedy film that is just funny to begin with. I did also enjoy the supporting actors, including Star Trek's Karl Urban, the sensational Richard Dreyfuss, and old-timer Ernest Borgine. All of the main actors in this movie each have their shine in the comedic side of the film, but the one actor that stole the show was, in fact, John Malkovich. He knows how to kick some serious *ass* and be the cherry on the strawberry ice cream sundae. I would like to point out that the most disappointing thing in this movie to me is that (SPOILER) Morgan Freeman was only in the movie for approxamitely 20 minutes, thus making him the smallest character of all of the A list stars. (END OF SPOILER)

The director of this movie, Robert Schwentke, who has directed movies like Fightplan and the poorly recieved The Time Traveler's Wife certainly seemed like he had a fun time making it, not to mention that this movie was welly made. Any other director probably would've made less comedy and more blowing up. Thank goodness Michael Bay wasn't attached to make this, not that he wouldn't have a decent flick. I would like to admit that the violence in this movie can be pretty brutal for a PG-13 movie. Probably not as brutal as something like 300, but still pretty intense. But with every film, there is a surprise thrown in, but this surprise isn't the one you'd expect from one of my reviews.

The one thing that did surprise me was the fact that I didn't see the final cut of the film. They did announce that some of the special effects weren't complete, but nothing made me surprised when I heard that... the screening I saw was going to be cut down into a 90 minute film, which is taking 40 minutes out of what I saw. Although, I can't believe that because the version I saw was the same print reviewed by the MPAA, whom gave it the well deserved PG-13 rating. So when the movie officially comes out or I get invited to another screening a few days in advance, I'm going to see it and review it again so I can compare the different prints. Who knows, maybe they'll keep it the way I saw it. (hopefully)

UPDATE: After seeing the final cut of the movie, there's only one thing I can say: They didn't change a thing!! They kept everything in tact and added all of the remaining unfinished special effects. I was both surprised and disappointed by this, mainly because I wanted to point out what had been taken out. Also, the only thing that they did add was a slight scene before the credits that's only about 20 seconds long, which kind of made me disappointed. But all in all, my slight disappointments shouldn't stop you from having a worthwile time at the movies, especially if you bring your parents or grandparents to this movie. Believe me, they'll have just as much fun as yourself.

But overall, cut or uncut, RED is a fun time at the movies that'll keep you wanting until the end. If I have to summarize, I'd say that RED is fast, action-packed, and a crap load of fun. Try to remember this movie in October, since it'll be in the competition of films like Saw 3D, Jackass 3D, and The Social Network. These actors, except for Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman are the unusual, but perfect choices for their roles in this. I never read the graphic novel before, but after seeing this, I have to put it on my list of graphic novels to read, behind Watchmen and Kick-Ass. So if you want to have fun on Halloween at the movies, then you might want to paint your car or Jack-O-Lantern RED.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Fair Game

Due Date

The Debt

The Dilemma

The Green Hornet

Drive Angry






NOTE: * * means highlight in between the stars.