Willis and company are back in a dumbed down retread of RED 1. I could spend a couple of paragraphs talking about the plot, but the truth is if you've ever seen a Bond movie you already know the drill. Nuclear terrorism, MI-6, CIA, rogue operatives, blah blah blah. The movie occasionally has moments of intrigue and there are a few surprises. Mary Louise-Parker gets a chance to kick some ass and Anthony Hopkins is enjoyably diabolical. But the majority of smart, character-driven twists and flourishes from the original are absent here.
I must also mention the appalling Iranian embassy scene in London. Apparently all Iranians in this embassy are terrorists, which of course gives Willis et al. free license to shoot, stab or explode anyone with dark skin and black hair. Granted, some of the terrorists in this story are indeed Iranian, but to cast an entire embassy as bad-guys simply for the sake of an exciting shootout is unforgivable. If Jason Bourne had acted similarly in the US embassy, for example, and killed every American soldier in the building, the movie would have been boycotted.
The embassy scene represents maybe five minutes in the movie's two hour run time but there is absolutely no excuse for it. Even if RED 2 was spectacular entertainment, this scene would make it unwatchable.
RED 2 (w/o embassy scene): 5.5/10 (w/ embassy scene): 0/10
I must also mention the appalling Iranian embassy scene in London. Apparently all Iranians in this embassy are terrorists, which of course gives Willis et al. free license to shoot, stab or explode anyone with dark skin and black hair. Granted, some of the terrorists in this story are indeed Iranian, but to cast an entire embassy as bad-guys simply for the sake of an exciting shootout is unforgivable. If Jason Bourne had acted similarly in the US embassy, for example, and killed every American soldier in the building, the movie would have been boycotted.
The embassy scene represents maybe five minutes in the movie's two hour run time but there is absolutely no excuse for it. Even if RED 2 was spectacular entertainment, this scene would make it unwatchable.
RED 2 (w/o embassy scene): 5.5/10 (w/ embassy scene): 0/10
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