RED 2

It’s nearly the same as the first RED, but less so.

The filmmakers, and probably the money people behind them, have taken the first film as less of a setup and more in the way of market research for how to make a franchise work, coming to the decision that what worked then should be re-used as much as possible, and everything else should be jettisoned. So expect a lot of John Malkovich wearing strange costumes and being generally weird while Helen Mirren shows up occasionally to shoot at people.

And Frank (Bruce Willis) and Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) spend a lot of time snarking at each other about their relationship not working.

In the years since getting out from under the government yoke, the pair have settled down, with Frank trying to return to a normal life while Sarah chafes to return to a life of adventure and resents being handled with kid gloves when things get dangerous. Which, considering Frank used to be the CIA’s best killer, will happen time and again as his past keeps catching up to him.

Which, unlike with any good action movie or comedy, is really just a crutch to string sit-com setups and action sequences together, rather than a constant flow of character-related quirkiness within a larger story. RED 2 is not a good action movie or a good comedy (although it’s not a particularly bad one, either). It’s definitely more one than the other this time around.

An obvious decision has been made, first off with the move to director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest), to make RED 2 less of an action-comedy and more of a comedy with some action in it.

But there’s not enough surprise to make that work, as so much of the film is about recycling what was good the first time around, so you know the punch line as soon as you see the setup. John Malkovich makes funny faces and tries to get Bruce Willis to talk about his feelings (and generally proves that a little Marvin is much better than a lot of Marvin), while Mirren is dry, and Willis looks pained, and scenes devolve into silliness with little point.

The other downside of that choice is the fact that the action is not up to par, often tenuously connected to the plot at best and perfunctorily executed, with little to make you stand up and cheer.

There are good things. Mary-Louise Parker is given an actual storyline and things to do for the first time, as she pushes Frank to treat her as more of an equal in adventure and life. It’s a struggle which becomes more complicated when Frank’s old spy-flame Katya (Catherine Zeta-Jones) shows up in the picture.

It also turns out that Lee Byung-hun, the world’s greatest assassin who’s been sent to find and kill Frank before he can find out why people are trying to find and kill him, actually has a an excellent feel for comedy, at least when playing the straight man.

An Anthony Hopkins as an excellently subdued mad scientist is the best thing about the film, with him knowing exactly how little to chew the scenery for once.

It can’t quite make up for the loss of the ensemble that made the first film work so well, but it’s got its moments. Not enough of them to make a good whole, though. Yeah, risk management is part of the reason sequels exist at all, but it’s hard to make a good story when that’s your driving rationale, and RED 2 is proof of that.

Cast: Bruce Willis as Frank Moses; John Malkovich as Marvin Boggs; Mary-Louise Parker as Sarah Ross; Helen Mirren as Victoria Winslow; Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Edward Bailey; Lee Byung-hun as Han Jo-Bae; Catherine Zeta-Jones as Katya; Neal McDonough as Jack Horton; David Thewlis as The Frog; Garrick Hagon as Davis; Tim Pigott-Smith as Director Philips; Brian Cox as Ivan.