Red 2 Review

A black op from the past places aging former agents Willis, Mirren and Malkovich on the run again in this follow-up to the 2010 comedy thriller. Recycling its predecessor’s setup without apology, Red 2 is not overly concerned with intricate plotting. Rather, the film’s strength is once more in its characters, whose reunion is just as disarmingly funny as their introduction was. Mirren steals much of the show once more as the casually sociopathic Victoria, but it’s Mary-Louise Parker who seizes a large chunk of the laughs as Willis’s thrill-seeking civilian girlfriend, Sarah. The lightness of tone here is refreshing in a brainless action romp and while it’s hardly challenging, everyone involved seems to be having so much fun that it’s hard not to get swept along.