Most of the talk about the new action/comedy RED seems to focus on how great its cast is, and for good reason. RED marks a pinnacle of respected, amassed star power, with three Oscar winners (Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and Ernest Borgnine), one of America's most respected actors (John Malkovich), one of the world's biggest movie stars (Bruce Willis), and an Emmy/Golden Globe winner (Mary-Louise Parker).
Too bad it's all for nothing.
In many cases, casting can be half the battle of making a good movie. I recall Steven Soderbergh saying that if he gets the right cast, his job as director is easy because all he has to do is sit back and watch his actors do what he hired them to do. Fortunately, what Soderbergh hires his actors to do is generally something pretty interesting -- which is not the case with RED. So RED did win half the battle by landing its stellar cast --unfortunately, the result is half a movie. Watching RED reminded me of watching the US Olympic men's basketball Dream Team win the bronze medal in 2004 -- sad proof that assembling a group of talented individuals is not enough to win a team sport.
Listen to my ReThink Review of RED for KPFK's Uprising Show by clicking on the image below.
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