In RED 2, the inevitable sequel to the surprise 2010 action comedy hit about a group of “retired, extremely dangerous” intelligence agents who rely on their seasoned wiles and experience to, well, save the world from the incompetence of their callow replacements. This time the core group — Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and younger woman Mary-Louise Parker — trot around the world to foil a 30-year-old nuclear plot while avoiding various would-be assassins. It’s breezy and slight, and our Philip Martin calls it a “refreshingly competent experience.” (Martin also talked to the filmmakers and Mirren for his OnFilm column.)
If that doesn’t excite you, there are plenty of alternatives, from the not-bad spook show The Conjuring and the cartoon Turbo to the first-ever adaptation of a Judy Blume young adult novel (Tiger Eyes) and Nicolas Winding Refn’s neon-soaked follow-up to drive, the inscrutable Only God Forgives.
(The last two are reviewed on our blood, dirt & angels blog.) There’s also R.I.P.D., which wasn’t screened for critics, but looks sort of like Ghostbusters meets Men in Black.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full reviews.