By Clay N Ferno

Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura

Screenplay by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber

Based on Red by Warren Ellis, Cully Hamner

Directed by Dean Parisot

Starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lee Byung-hun, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, David Thewlis, Neal McDonough

Summit Entertainment / Rated PG-13

Red 2 brings back Bruce Willis as Retired Extremely Dangerous black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses leading an ensemble which includes Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker.

While original cast member Morgan Freeman does not return to the sequel, we are fortunate enough to have Anthony Hopkins join the ensemble as well as action hero Lee Byung-hun (Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe franchise).

The sequel is another non-stop action comedy with incredible performances which reassembles the team having to span the globe to stop a long-forgotten Cold War nuclear threat called Project Nightshade.

The film opens on Frank (Bruce Willis) and girlfriend Sarah (Mary Louise-Parker) shopping at a warehouse club. Seemingly retired from being retired, the two have settled down, though this domestic bliss can’t cover up the fact that things are getting a tad boring for the couple. CIA-induced acid head Marvin (John Malkovich), our paranoid bunker living friend from the first movie stalks Frank in the store, encouraging him out of this simple life. Marvin is shooed away, but not before giving Frank a warning.

As Marvin drives away, his car explodes and we are off to the races!

Frank and Sarah attend his funeral and Frank eulogizes him to a small gathering of ex-military and some old ladies from around the way. “He could disarm a bomb quicker than anyone I know”. Though not a sequel or adaptation to the comic book itself, (which consisted only of three issues and served as the basis for the storyline for the first film) this kind of dialogue could easily have been written by the snarky Warren Ellis himself, and considering the translation on to the big screen was very funny. Also in regards to Marvin’s death, “He does this a lot”.

Surprise! Marvin did fake his death, we discover this as Frank was detained by CIA leaving the funeral for his friend. Willis blasts his way out with some assistance from Marvin and Sarah as they seek to learn about Project Nightshade.

Frank does not want to have his girlfriend in harm’s way on this mission with Marvin and himself, but has no choice but to take her along. The relationship interplay between the two is the backbone to the whole story, as Frank learns to, as Marvin advises “Run to emotional safety”, and trust his girlfriend, quite literally at points, with his life.

Mary-Louise Parker’s Sarah Ross is not that far off from her bad-mama killer matriarch Nancy Botwin in Weeds, with similar bottom lip-biting gestures and assertive challenges to the males she comes in contact with. Also, when faced with a strong female, Miranda Wood (Catherine Zeta Jones) she at first is threatened, then uses her own brand of sex appeal to steal the scene.

The CIA and MI-6 have a bounty on Frank, and Han Jo-Bae (Lee Byung-hun) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) take the bait. These two highly skilled assassins track down Frank across the world and after some firefights and fisticuffs eventually all turn their heads toward the common enemy, the Project Nightshade WMD hidden in the Kremlin by Dr. Edward Bradley (Anthony Hopkins).

Hopkins is another scene stealer, played rarely for comedy, but mostly for crazy in this picture. His sinister flip from being imprisoned unjustly by MI-6 for 32 years to compromising our heroes in a Russian safe-house was a genuine shocker moment, just as the audience begins to figure our his involvement with Nightshade and his co-conspirators. The good doctor’s motivations are even too extreme for military on either side of the ocean and seems to be working his own angle with the Project Nightshade device.

The backdrop of the movie takes us from the States, to London, The Kremlin and Paris. Some of the time is spent in Han’s private plane, who earns top dollar as the world’s most well trained assassin. Marvin’s detective work, his hilarious multi-handset phone device and use of WikiLeaks leads to major clues on Project Nightshade and Dr. Bradley.

As far as an adaptation is concerned, this has little to do with comic storytelling or adapting story. What was amazing about both movies is the ability of the writers to take Ellis’ characters and develop a franchise from them. This is different than Mark Millar’s Kick Ass and Kick Ass 2, as both of those movies are backed up by comic books. According to wikipedia, Red 3 is in development.

This is a fun movie, a popcorn action spy game borrowing from the best action movies in recent years (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) as well as Bruce Willis’ own roles in the Die Hard franchise and his recent G.I. Joe: Retaliation stint. Throw in a bit of Fast and Furious and Wanted for the car shoot-out scenes, mixed with the tongue in cheek humor of Weeds and Being John Malkovich and the first Red plays to all of the amazing actors strengths. Red was an unexpected hit for the studio, and here’s to hoping more people check out both movies this summer.

If you are looking for a funny movie with explosions, a romance story and your favorite actors on the screen, including an evil Neal McDonough (Dum Dum Dugan in Captain America: The First Avenger), Red 2 is a hit for just about everyone.