Arts & Entertainment

'Red 2' Reunites Bruce Willis With John Malkovich, Helen Mirren

Movie critics say sequel is well-acted, but plot is jumbled.

Compiled by Deanna Allen 
The premise, courtesy of the film's official website

In RED 2, the high-octane action-comedy sequel to the worldwide sleeper hit, retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing, next-generation lethal device that can change the balance of world power. To succeed, they'll need to survive an army of relentless assassins, ruthless terrorists and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on the technologically advanced super weapon. The mission takes Frank and his motley crew to Paris, London and Moscow. Outgunned and outmanned, they have only their cunning wits, their old-school skills, and each other to rely on as they try to save the world-and stay alive in the process.

Here's what critics are saying:

'RED 2' isn't a slovenly mess, the way the most recent 'Die Hard' sequel was. Parker and Malkovich wring some laughs out of wisecracks that meet but do not exceed expectations. The movie's adequate. — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
If nothing else, 'Red 2' is the best-acted movie of the summer. And the above-mentioned stars aren’t playing their roles with a wink, like the A-listers that litter the 'Ocean’s' movies. These are pro’s pros, hitting their comedic beats just right and pouring on the drama when needed. Unfortunately, the plot is something of a mess. — Sonny Bunch, The Washington Times
This oldster-spies-in-from-the-cold flick is a sequel no one was asking for. Yet it’s here anyway, and as the stars saunter through, the movie starts to feel like a spy flick molded around a Dean Martin celebrity roast. It’s never laugh-out-loud funny or inside-track smart, but in a summer full of bombastic failures, a lack of pretense is enough. — Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Not that it isn’t entertaining, but the film's premise is certainly well past its 'use by' date, resulting in another passably palatable sequel distinguished by a lack of narrative and stylistic coherence that could potentially underpin a really viable franchise. — Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter
Unfortunately, while the sequel manages to retain some of the charm of the original, it does little else. There is a sense that 'Red 2' is resting on its laurels and relying on the audience to simply enjoy the interplay among the actors while absorbing jumbled plot points that are being offered without much explanation. — Tony Hicks, Mercury News
... while it’s never less than watchable, this sort of droll, dark comedy is harder to pull off than it looks, and the lightness that 'Red 2' seems to be aiming for ultimately feels more like laziness, from the cut-rate quality of the banter to the busy, cluttered nature of the storytelling. — Justin Chang, Variety

"RED 2" is rated PG-13 for pervasive action and violence including frenetic gunplay, and for some language and drug material. The movie runs 1 hour and 56 minutes. It is playing at Studio Movie Grill in Duluth.


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