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jennariaRED, directed by Robert Schwentke.
IMDB's summary: When his idyllic life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive.
Um. Yeah. Sorry, IMDB, but that's not exactly how it happens.
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is a former CIA agent, now retired, though it's not clear how long. Given how not-so-well he's adjusting to a 'normal' life, the answer doesn't seem to be very long at all. He stays in shape, fumbles around attempting said 'normal' life, and calls his pension agent on a regular basis - he's bonded with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), who always gets his calls, and she's the closest thing he has to a friend. It's not much of a life, but it's what he has.
Except then a hit squad turns up at his door in the middle of the night. Going on the run isn't the problem - it's the fact that Moses now actually has someone else he cares about, someone who could be used against him by the people who sent the hit squad. So he heads out to find Sarah, which starts a ball rolling that has him picking up not just Sarah, but also more and more of his old acquaintances to deal with the threat.
The 'threat' is pretty much just a Macguffin - there's a reason why there are hit squads after Moses, connected with Something That Happened, but it's really just an excuse why Karl Urban is chasing Bruce Willis in the best approved Javert/Valjean fashion, and why Bruce Willis has to join forces with John Malkovitch, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and Brian Cox. This isn't one of those movies that's about making you think, or about surprising you with twists and turns and made-you-look. It's not even about the ending: you know pretty much from the beginning who's going to be left standing. It's about the glorious, glorious road getting there.
And I do mean 'glorious.' The movie is clearly and plainly having fun, and so are the actors. John Malkovitch pouting with his entire body (plus stuffed pig) because he didn't get to kill someone he thought needed killing. Helen Mirren confessing to still taking the occasional contract, with the faintly abashed air of someone confessing to drinking a bit more than she ought. Morgan Freeman and his disappointed expression as he turns to face a would-be assassin. Mary-Louise Parker's character is kidnapped by Bruce Willis, and yet as we watch her slow change-over to realizing that he really was a spy, she really is in danger, and they really are living out something like the action romances she loves to read, we buy it completely. Karl Urban isn't given much to do, acting-wise: he's just there to be the honorable opposition. But he does it beautifully.
It's not a perfect film. But the beauty of it is that it's not trying to be. It's here to show us old characters kicking ass and taking names, and not being too particular about the names. Just let the cliches go, and the movie will sweep you off your feet.
IMDB's summary: When his idyllic life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive.
Um. Yeah. Sorry, IMDB, but that's not exactly how it happens.
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is a former CIA agent, now retired, though it's not clear how long. Given how not-so-well he's adjusting to a 'normal' life, the answer doesn't seem to be very long at all. He stays in shape, fumbles around attempting said 'normal' life, and calls his pension agent on a regular basis - he's bonded with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), who always gets his calls, and she's the closest thing he has to a friend. It's not much of a life, but it's what he has.
Except then a hit squad turns up at his door in the middle of the night. Going on the run isn't the problem - it's the fact that Moses now actually has someone else he cares about, someone who could be used against him by the people who sent the hit squad. So he heads out to find Sarah, which starts a ball rolling that has him picking up not just Sarah, but also more and more of his old acquaintances to deal with the threat.
The 'threat' is pretty much just a Macguffin - there's a reason why there are hit squads after Moses, connected with Something That Happened, but it's really just an excuse why Karl Urban is chasing Bruce Willis in the best approved Javert/Valjean fashion, and why Bruce Willis has to join forces with John Malkovitch, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and Brian Cox. This isn't one of those movies that's about making you think, or about surprising you with twists and turns and made-you-look. It's not even about the ending: you know pretty much from the beginning who's going to be left standing. It's about the glorious, glorious road getting there.
And I do mean 'glorious.' The movie is clearly and plainly having fun, and so are the actors. John Malkovitch pouting with his entire body (plus stuffed pig) because he didn't get to kill someone he thought needed killing. Helen Mirren confessing to still taking the occasional contract, with the faintly abashed air of someone confessing to drinking a bit more than she ought. Morgan Freeman and his disappointed expression as he turns to face a would-be assassin. Mary-Louise Parker's character is kidnapped by Bruce Willis, and yet as we watch her slow change-over to realizing that he really was a spy, she really is in danger, and they really are living out something like the action romances she loves to read, we buy it completely. Karl Urban isn't given much to do, acting-wise: he's just there to be the honorable opposition. But he does it beautifully.
It's not a perfect film. But the beauty of it is that it's not trying to be. It's here to show us old characters kicking ass and taking names, and not being too particular about the names. Just let the cliches go, and the movie will sweep you off your feet.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-17 06:26 am (UTC)Oh, I am relieved. I have been looking forward to this movie for months!
(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-17 01:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-10-17 03:39 pm (UTC)