RED movie review 8.3/10!!

There are a couple of different old people tropes that tend to show up again and again. They have some overlapping similarities, but there is one very distinct difference. Probably the most common is the Obi-wan Kenobi archetype. This is the one where there is an old and wizened person who has the ability to guide a young hero and impart knowledge onto him that will help him deal with a threat that he once could have handled but now can no longer deal with, thus he needs to prepare the young hero to handle the challenge. Generally he imparts his knowledge, but something happens and he either dies or is captured, usually as a means to empower and inspire the young hero, allowing him to ascend to new levels that he could not reach due to reliance on the elders knowledge. Dumbledore in particular is an Obi-wan type, and is probably the next most well known after the original. Actually, he might be more well known, now that I think about it. The other archetype is similar. They generally are wise, and also try to guide the younger hero, preparing him to take up the banner and lead the next generation, however, the difference is this guy is not done kicking ass, as has no plans to go into that peaceful night without putting on the boots and applying it to tail end for extreme affect. I generally refer to this as the Gandalf archetype. This character is generally peaceful, prefers non-violence, and will go out of his way to not do violence. However, if you push him, and it generally takes a lot of pushing, he will gleefully hand you your ass. This guys are awesome because they have been kicking butt for so long they generally aren't intimidated by anyone or anything, and the confidence is generally played out as extreme calm in all stressful situations, which in the end just makes them look like more of a badass. Master Splinter from TMNT is one of those, General Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender is a more recent one. It is a regularly used one in comic book and fantasy literature. And without a doubt its probably my absolute FAVORITE archetype period. I just love these guys, and I find them way more interesting than the various young dude hero archetypes.


Perhaps because of my love for the old guys that can give a beat down, I really enjoyed this movie. Its fluff, there isn't much to it, but its entertaining and has something that a lot of action comedies don't. Its actually funny. First off, this movie is good because of the cast, not because of the writing or any particular quality in the movie making. The story is just so so, but the characters have enough decent dialogue to work with. Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and Mary Louise Parker are what makes this movie entertaining. Mary Louis e was actually my favorite of the lot. She was very funny in her role and really sold the quirky nature of her character. Not to mention she is absolutely freaking hot. It also works well because she is the love interest with Bruce Willis, and although she is smoking hot, she is also of an age with Bruce Willis so it doesn't come across as creepy or unrealistic. There isn't really much to talk about as far as this movie goes, its fun, its got a great cast that work well together, it has good action, and it has good cinematography. If you like these types of movies you will not be disappointed. Oh, and I like Karl Urban in it too, although I might be the only Karl Urban fan in existence other than his mother.