RED 2 mistakingly hires double the amount of retirees and twice the bombastic action. "Bigger is better", so they say. Whilst that may apply to a variety of situations (televisions, equipment for after dark usage (if you catch my cold...) and Nicolas Cage raging his heart out), it doesn't necessarily work for sequels. Here we have a prime example of that ethos backfiring, with so much *stuff* happening that it becomes a clustered, splintered and hefty mess of global political proportions. The ol' RED team of new must team up again to stop governments from acquiring a WMD that could obliterate opposing nations, quickly and efficiently.
My hyperbolic introductory paragraph is just that. Exaggeration. But it expresses my disappointment for this sequel considering the light character-driven fun that was portrayed in its predecessor. In all honesty, this sequel is fine. Neither bad nor good. A plethora of locales for action of the highest intensity to take place, including the mesmerising Byung-Hun spraying a symphony of bullets from a Gatling gun in downtown Paris. An extended range of cast members, ranging from Willis and Malkovich to Hopkins and Zeta-Jones, assembling an ensemble cast of cataclysmic proportions. Oh, and a myriad of real-life problems, from stale relationships woes to obsessive wine purchasing, enhancing the central spine of characterisation.
Alas, it all comes falling down, quicker than London Bridge, thanks to a forgettably generic plot that intently focuses the narrative's agenda on worldly politics instead of the retirees. CIA, FBI, MI6, Russian Intelligence, and I'm ever so certain a Korean agency was mentioned too. It's a wasted opportunity, reeling off its unambitious predictable plot and twists, instead of honing in on what made the original so much fun. The characters. There are moments in which the juicy personalities are brought forward, particularly Mirren and Malkovich, yet handcuffed to a script that doesn't care. The constant switches between Paris, London, Moscow, Paris again, London again and nearly Iran, was messy to say the least. Never allowing the characters and story to simmer or take in the surroundings. A shame, considering Silvestri's score does much of the international embodying. Also, more Byung-Hun please. The man is a legend.
To conclude, let's correct the introductory statement. "Bigger is not always better, ya dig?". It's an obvious step down from its predecessor, however RED 2 manages to maintain its light hearted escapades for a watchable, if forgettable, sequel. Can we appreciate Hopkins chewing up the scenery though? I salute you Sir Anthony!
