Red

Frank Moses (Willis) is rudely brought out of retirement following an attempt on his life by his former employer, the CIA. With a price on his head, he urgently travels from state to state to recruit his ageing ex-comrades (Freeman, Malkovich and Mirren) to join his fight against a government conspiracy that goes all the way to the President.

Like last summer’s Expendables, Red is a proclamation from those over the hill that they’ve still got it, despite being old enough to claim a bus pass. The cast clearly enjoy playing a pastiche of the action genre, and revel in each other’s company: Malkovich as the paranoid crackpot, Freeman as the weary wisecracker, Mirren as the dainty but deadly madam, and Willis as none other than the action movie archetype he established long ago. Brimming with stunning set pieces, outrageous explosions, and a myriad of one-liners, Red is an entertaining celebration of everything that action films stand for.

Owen Rye