Is the world ready for a bunch of retired CIA agents forced to go on the run from their former superiors when one of their own is blacklisted for death? Warren Ellis certainly thought so when he penned the graphic novel Red, and Summit Entertainment will be praying that translates to us all wanting to watch Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren touting weaponry. And you know what? In Mirren’s case, it really does.
Fans of Ellis’ original tome, however, might be wondering just where everyone aside from Bruce Willis’ Frank Moses and Mary Louise Parker’s shocked CIA handler Sarah actually came from, since the novel’s short, sharp shock tactics plot featured a much more compact tale of Moses alone having to survive when his old bosses put out a hit on him to cover up all the terrible things he’s done in the name of his country.
Suffice to say, despite slipping into the boredom of no longer working as a murderous operative, Moses isn’t terribly chuffed when high-tech assassins come calling to end his life, so he strikes out on a mission to find out just who is behind the order.
Given that the original story would fill about one act of a film, the writers have naturally had to expand the story and gathered a gang of old pals for Willis to interact with, all ex-operatives who fit the classification Retired: Extremely Dangerous. See what they did there, eh?
But based on the evidence of this, even though most the thesps involved are clearly just in it to have a little fun, the vibe actually seems to work. Your mileage may vary, so check out the trailer below and let us know your thoughts.
Red arrives in cinemas later this year.