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"RED" (2010) (Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Moderate Extreme Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Extreme Moderate Heavy Minor Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate None Moderate Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action/Comedy: A small group of retired CIA operatives tries to figure out who wants them dead and why. PLOT: Frank Moses (BRUCE WILLIS) is a retiree who goes about his seemingly lonely, everyday routine where the highlight is calling Sarah (MARY-LOUISE PARKER), a call center operator. Despite always getting his pension check, Frank calls to say he hasn't, mainly to chat with her, and she likes the attention. Little does she know what he did in the past or how that's about to change her life. And that's because he's a former CIA operative categorized as "RED" (Retired and Extremely Dangerous) who has just survived a coordinated attack on his home where the intent was to leave him dead. Needing to know who's responsible, but also realizing that his calls to Sarah have most likely been traced, Frank first heads from Cleveland to Kansas City to get her out of harm's way, but must first kidnap her since there's no time to waste and she doesn't recognize him by face. With Sarah in tow, Frank visits his former colleague, Joe Matheson (MORGAN FREEMAN), who now lives in a retirement home, for any possible helpful info, and then seeks out Marvin Boggs (JOHN MALKOVICH) for the same. Having been experimented on with LSD in the past, Marvin is a loose cannon, but he comes in helpful when eluding even more assassins. When Victoria (HELEN MIRREN) is added to the mix, their old team is reunited, and she even enlists the aid of their one-time Russian nemesis, Ivan Simanov (BRIAN COX), for any insight about who's after them. They eventually realize it involves an array of people, ranging from CIA hitman William Cooper (KARL URBAN) who works for Cynthia Wilkes (REBECCA PIDGEON), to American arms dealer Alexander Dunning (RICHARD DREYFUSS) all of the way up to Vice President Richard Stanton (JULIAN McMAHON). With time running out, the team must survive other attacks as they go after those responsible for wanting them dead. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Those who are fans of anyone in the cast or action-comedies (featuring a mostly older cast) might be interested, but it doesn't seem likely that any other kids, beyond older teens, might show interest in this. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: BRUCE WILLIS plays a government retiree who enjoys chatting with Sarah on the phone. That life, however, is interrupted when he survives a government hit on him. After collecting Sarah for her own protection, he seeks out his former CIA colleagues to find out who's responsible and get rid of them. He uses some profanity and briefly drinks. MARY-LOUISE PARKER plays a call center operator who fills her otherwise lonely and what she thinks is a boring life by chatting on the phone with Frank, who she's never met in person. When she does, however, her world is turned upside down as she's thrust into a high stakes arena of government subterfuge and violence. She briefly drinks. MORGAN FREEMAN plays Frank's good friend and former colleague who's now suffering from terminal cancer in a retirement home (where he enjoys lusting after a younger female staffer). That, however, doesn't prevent him from helping Frank and the rest of the team. JOHN MALKOVICH plays another former teammate who's paranoid and thus always edgy, stemming from LSD experiments performed on him in the past. He uses some profanity and briefly drinks. HELEN MIRREN plays the last member of their former team, a seemingly dignified, high society woman who has no problem dropping that new lifestyle in favor of returning to her old ways, including the use of powerful weaponry. We learn she had a relationship with their former nemesis in the past, and she briefly drinks in the present. KARL URBAN plays a contemporary hit-man for the CIA who's good at what he does, but hasn't expected Frank and his team to be such difficult targets. He briefly uses strong profanity. RICHARD DREYFUSS plays a powerful and dangerous arms dealer who's in cahoots with government types and wants Frank and his team dead. JULIAN McMAHON plays the Vice President of the United States who reportedly has an unsavory secret from his past that could stymie or derail his pending bid to run for President. BRIAN COX plays the team's former nemesis, a Cold War Russian operative and Victoria's former secret lover who misses the good old days, both with her and in the spy game. He briefly drinks. REBECCA PIDGEON plays Cooper's boss who wants him to get the job done. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action/comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some non-explicit, sexually related dialogue is present, as are some views of cleavage and a man lusting after a woman's clothed rear. Violence consists of people being killed or wounded in various ways (gunfire, explosions, a hanging, etc.), while fighting also occurs, as does the punching of others. Some, but not a great deal, of that has varying degrees of bloody results, and while most of the violence and related peril is played lightly, some viewers may nevertheless find that (and/or the threatening of others with guns) as tense and/or suspenseful. Various behaviors might be enticing for some kids to imitate, while various bad attitudes are present. There's some drinking in several scenes as well as some drug-related talk. Some brief tense family material occurs in a few scenes, while some thematic elements are also present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some of that from muzzle flashes from guns fired in dimly lit environs. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of camera movement (handheld, some spin around shots, some POV shots, etc.) at various points in the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE A cop (most likely a bad guy in disguise) takes Sarah to a squad car, pushes her against that and starts to inject her with something, but Frank knocks him out and removes the syringe. Even so, enough got in that Sarah says she's high and briefly acts that way. Cooper hears that Frank was a black op agent who did all sorts of CIA work, including retiring drug lords. About Marvin distrusting the government, Frank states that such types gave Marvin daily doses of LSD in the past as part of an experiment. We see several beer bottles in front of Marvin. Ivan uses a knife to open a bottle of vodka, and he and Frank then have shots of that. Frank, Marvin, Ivan and Victoria raise a toast to a fallen comrade, and then have more. People have drinks at a reception. BLOOD/GORE Frank delivers some severed fingers in an envelope for Joe to get their prints (briefly seen). A cop (most likely a bad guy in disguise) takes Sarah to a squad car, pushes her against that and starts to inject her with something, but Frank knocks him out and removes the syringe. Even so, enough got in that Sarah says she might vomit, but doesn't. A man holds a handgun on Joe, and it's implied he kills Joe (but we later learn that's not the case), with a nurse later mentioning all of the blood (not seen). We see a little bit of blood on a man's shirt after he's been shot. Both Frank and Cooper are fairly bloody (faces, shirts, etc.) during and after a brutal fight. Marvin has a little bit of blood from his nose. We see a bloody bullet that Victoria has removed from Frank's bloody shoulder, while there's also some blood-soaked gauze. Ivan shows a few old bullet scars on the top of his chest where his former lover shot him (under orders, but purposefully didn't kill him). Victoria is hit in the side with a shot, bloodying her clothes and hand. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE All of those responsible for and involved with the attempts of killing Frank and his team have bad attitudes. Frank tells white lies about not receiving his pension check so that he has a reason to keep calling and chatting with Sarah at the call center where she works. We see that Frank has Sarah bound and with tape over her mouth in the backseat as he gets her out of harm's way. We see Cooper planting hair and fingerprints in a man's place. We then see he has the man atop a short table, hands tied and with a noose around his neck. Cooper then kicks the table out and the man hangs, with his feet kicking for a moment before going still. Joe has a younger female staffer try to adjust his TV set in his assisted living home, but we then see he does so to get a good view of her clothed butt as she bends over in front of him at the TV. SPOILER ALERT: We hear that the attempted hit on Frank's life -- along with all of the other murders -- was ordered by the CIA (that's later amended to V.P. Stanton and then Dunning). Marvin refers to Sarah as a "broad," tells Frank they need to get rid of her, and states he knows of some alligator-infested places. Marvin mentions the Russians in the past putting electrical wires in not very nice places on his body. Ivan states he misses the spy life, lamenting that he hasn't killed anyone in years. Victoria informs Sarah that if she breaks Frank's heart, she (Victoria) will kill and bury her in the woods. Thinking he's an African leader, Dunning offers to sell Joe weaponry, but says there's a surcharge for doing so to nations on the do-not-sell-to list. We hear that V.P. Stanton "went off the reservation" and killed many people in Guatemala in the past and is now using the CIA to kill off anyone in the know before he runs for President of the U.S. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore," "Guns/Weapons" and/or "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. That said, most of the material is played somewhat lightly (in terms of realism or true tension and/or suspense). GUNS/WEAPONS Handguns/ Machine guns/Sniper rifle/Explosives (rocket, missile, and grenade): Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details. We see armed men outside of Sarah's place heading that way (but Frank gets her out of there before anything happens). We see miscellaneous cops wearing sidearms. Cooper goes looking for Frank with his handgun drawn, but is arrested by many cops who aim their handguns at him. One then tackles him to the ground (partially seen). A man holds a handgun on Joe, and it's implied he kills Joe (but we later learn that's not the case), with a nurse later mentioning all of the blood (not seen). Marvin suddenly hops out, dressed in camouflage, and aims a crossbow at Frank and Sarah and holds a huge knife at Frank's crotch. Marvin grabs a woman and holds a large handgun on her. A man pulls a knife on Frank, with Marvin then aiming his gun at that man's head. Guards aim machine guns at Frank as he enters the Russian embassy. Ivan uses a knife to open a bottle of vodka, and he and Frank then have shots of that. CIA guards aim machine guns at Frank and Sarah in an elevator. We see a handgun held to Marvin's head, but then see that it's Joe. After Frank enters her place and she realizes he's wounded, Victoria reveals she was holding a machine gun under some flowers, while Marvin is seen outside in camo while aiming a gun at her through the window. We see Victoria outside Dunning's place with a sniper rifle, while many armed men are elsewhere outside the place, and even more show up. Thinking he's an African leader, Dunning offers to sell Joe weaponry, but says there's a surcharge for doing so to nations on the do-not-sell-to list. Sarah falls down a snowy hill and agents aim guns at her. We see many weapons in Frank's storage stash. Marvin chases after V.P. Stanton and some Secret Service agents while wearing a bomb vest and acting crazily. Cynthia holds her gun on Sarah. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck you," "You better get your sh*t straight," "Someone has a serious hard-on for you" (figurative, not literal), "Balls" (testicles), "My day sucks," "Shut up," "Losers like you," "Hell of a mess," "You gotta be kidding me," "Thumb-sucker," "RED" (Retired, Extremely Dangerous), "Wow, all we need is a banjo," "Broad" (woman), "Some dorky little suit," "Old man," "Old man, my ass," "Awesome," "This is so cool," "You know you're gonna catch hell for this," "You just had your ass handed to you by a G*ddamn retiree," "Who the hell are you guys?" "For the love of Christ," "Went completely off the reservation," "Little plastic man," "Bastards," "God, you are such an idiot," "That is so lame," "He is so going to eat you for lunch," "Get me the hell out of here," "What the hell's this?" and "Kicking ass." The action, stunts and other such behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate. Frank tells white lies about not receiving his pension check so that he has a reason to keep calling and chatting with Sarah at the call center where she works. We see that Frank has Sarah bound and with tape over her mouth in the backseat as he gets her out of harm's way. We see Cooper planting hair and fingerprints in a man's place. We then see he has the man atop a short table, hands tied and with a noose around his neck. Cooper then kicks the table out and the man hangs, with his feet kicking for a moment before going still. Joe has a younger female staffer try to adjust his TV set in his assisted living home, but we then see he does so to get a good view of her clothed butt as she bends over in front of him at the TV. Marvin gives "the finger" to an unseen satellite up above him. Frank combines custodial products into a chemical bomb that creates an explosion, and it's implied (but not seen) that he knocks out a fireman to get into his gear in order to escape. Ivan sprays something stinky at a reception and then yells that he smells gas, thus causing a panic, especially after Victoria has locked the main exit. Marvin chases after V.P. Stanton and some Secret Service agents while wearing a bomb vest and acting crazily. Cooper jumps on one car to jump on top of V.P. Stanton's limo, but then falls off and lands hard. JUMP SCENES An SUV driven by Cooper suddenly smashes into a car driven by Frank. Marvin suddenly hops out, dressed in camouflage, and aims a crossbow at Frank and Sarah and holds a huge knife at Frank's crotch. A man is suddenly shot twice in an airport control tower, with machine gun fire then riddling the place as Frank, Sarah and Marvin take cover. A worker is grabbed and yanked into a trash dumpster. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of suspenseful, ominous and action-oriented music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A classic song includes the lyric, "Who's that lady? Sexy lady..." PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 2 "s" words, 8 hells, 5 damns, 3 asses, 2 uses each of "G-damn" and "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "For the love of Christ," "God" and "Oh Christ." SEX/NUDITY Sarah tells Frank on the phone that her landlady thinks she's gay. There may be some sensual/sexual text in a novel that Sarah and Frank are reading separately, but it's on the screen so briefly that we didn't get the chance to note anything in particular. After a bad date, Sarah talks to herself (as if talking to the man) stating he's not going to "get any of this" (meaning her body) and removes her outer top, revealing another below that shows a bit of cleavage. Joe has a younger female staffer try to adjust his TV set in his assisted living home, but we then see he does so to get a good view of her clothed butt as she bends over in front of him at the TV. Sarah shows cleavage, especially when tied to a bed (nonsexual). Not meant sexually, Joe tells Frank (about others wanting to kill him), "Someone has a serious hard-on for you, kid." Marvin suddenly hops out, dressed in camouflage, and aims a crossbow at Frank and Sarah and holds a huge knife at Frank's crotch, prompting Frank to ask if he'd take that knife out of his "balls." Joe tells Victoria she's as sexy as ever and plants a kiss on her lips. We learn that Victoria and Ivan were former lovers. Frank punches Dunning and we next see Dunning taped to a chair. Joe then punches Dunning in the face, followed by the threat of using a "nuts, nipples or potty trainer" torture device on him. They agree on "nuts" and use a torch to heat up some large pliers, but Dunning then talks, although Joe eventually punches him in the face again, this time knocking him out. Frank and Sarah briefly kiss in a car. SMOKING None TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that a newspaper reporter was murdered and Frank and Sarah later visit her grieving mother. Cooper worries about his wife and young kids after he learns Frank is placing a call from Cooper's house. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The CIA and its operatives. Government-sanctioned murders. We hear that Joe has stage 4 liver cancer. Ivan states he misses the spy life, lamenting that he hasn't killed anyone in years. We hear that V.P. Stanton "went off the reservation" and killed many people in Guatemala in the past and is now using the CIA to kill off anyone in the know before he runs for President of the U.S. Arms dealers. VIOLENCE Armed men enter Frank's home at night. One kicks down an interior door, with Frank then showing up behind them. He hits several and injects another with a syringe, killing or rendering all of them unconscious. He then dumps some live bullets into a frying pan, goes downstairs and preps himself, and after those bullets go off, more armed men from outside riddle his place with machine gun fire and a grenade is also fired in. They then go inside to survey the damage and look for him, but he shoots two of them. One shoots his machine gun, and Frank then shoots him as well. Shocked to find Frank (who she's never met in person) suddenly in her place, Sarah throws a plant and then some candles at him. We see that Frank has Sarah bound and with tape over her mouth in the backseat as he gets her out of harm's way. We see Cooper planting hair and fingerprints in a man's place. We then see he has the man atop a short table, hands tied and with a noose around his neck. Cooper then kicks the table out and the man hangs, with his feet kicking for a moment before going still. A cop (most likely a bad guy in disguise) takes Sarah to a squad car, pushes her against that and starts to inject her with something, but Frank knocks him out and removes the syringe. An SUV driven by Cooper suddenly smashes into a car driven by Frank who hops out as it's still spinning around and fires many shots from his handgun at the SUV, riddling it with gunfire but not hitting Cooper. Cooper goes looking for Frank with his handgun drawn, but is arrested by many cops who aim their handguns at him. One then tackles him to the ground (partially seen). A man holds a handgun on Joe, and it's implied he kills Joe (but we later learn that's not the case), with a nurse later mentioning all of the blood (not seen). We hear that a newspaper reporter was murdered. A man is suddenly shot twice in an airport control tower, with machine gun fire then riddling the place as Frank, Sarah and Marvin take cover. Various people shoot at Frank, Sarah and Marvin from atop or around large cargo containers. Frank fires one grenade up to one and it explodes, killing the man, while Marvin hits another like a baseball over to another man, with that exploding and killing that man. A woman then fires a rocket at all three who duck out of its way and resultant explosion. Marvin then readies himself as the woman arms another missile, and fires his handgun just as she fires that missile. The bullet gets to the missile first and that explodes, blowing up the woman as well. Marvin mentions the Russians in the past putting electrical wires in not very nice places on his body. Frank kicks through a wall to access controls for a door. Frank and Cooper get into a brutal fight in an office, with them punching, striking, kicking and bashing each other about until both are bloody. Frank then has Cooper pinned to a table in a leg lock of sorts, with Cooper getting free from that, but Frank overturns a large file cabinet onto him. Frank then jumps through a glass wall, with Cooper firing at him. We then see that Frank was shot in the arm during that, but he manages to combine custodial products into a chemical bomb that creates an explosion, and it's implied (but not seen) that he knocks out a fireman to get into his gear in order to escape. We see a flashback to Joe turning and twice shooting a man who's holding a gun on him. Frank punches Dunning. Frank punches Dunning and we next see Dunning taped to a chair. Joe then punches Dunning in the face, followed by the threat of using a "nuts, nipples or potty trainer" torture device on him. They agree on "nuts" and use a torch to heat up some large pliers, but Dunning then talks, although Joe eventually punches him in the face again, this time knocking him out. A former spy is shot (and seemingly killed) upon exiting Dunning's place, while Victoria fires various shots to provide cover for others as they flee. Ivan shows a few old bullet scars on the top of his chest where his former lover shot him (under orders, but purposefully didn't kill him). A worker is grabbed and yanked into a trash dumpster. Victoria hits a guard on the neck, knocking him out. Victoria fires a large caliber machine gun at V.P. Stanton's limo and accompanying SUV (causing both to crash), with the Secret Service agents with him returning fire. When a rescue limo arrives, Ivan uses a remote device to set off an explosive that blows up the limo before anyone else gets inside. Victoria fires machine guns at agents who return fire in an industrial kitchen, followed by the police who blast a great deal of machine gun fire at Victoria and Marvin. Victoria is hit in the side with a shot, bloodying her clothes and hand. Cooper jumps on one car to jump on top of V.P. Stanton's limo, but then falls off and lands hard. Frank uses a Taser or similar shocking device to shock V.P. Stanton and the Secret Service agents with him. Dunning shoots but doesn't kill V.P. Stanton. Cooper shoots Cynthia and a few others are shot, while Frank strikes Dunning hard in the neck. Marvin then shoots him or someone else on the ground (heard, not seen). Reviewed August 17, 2010 / Posted October 15, 2010

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