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RED (2010)Movie Reviews
Action comedy about a former CIA black-ops agent who comes out of retirement and assembles his old team to determine who's trying to kill him and why. Cast:Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise ParkerDirector:Robert SchwentkeRelease Date:October 15, 2010DVD Release:January 25, 2011From:Summit EntertainmentRating:PG-13Length:1 hr 51 min
Red (2010) played to good not great reviews. • Steve Persall wrote in the St. Petersburg Times, "...wears its shawl proudly, with even Ernest Borgnine and Richard Dreyfuss popping in for career therapy. It's an amusing geriatric uprising..." • And Amy Biancolli wrote in the Houston Chronicle, "Old people who kill people are so much cuter than young people who kill people, right?" More Reviews Below...
Red (2010) Positive Reviews (48 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...watchable.... isn't nearly spoofy enough, turning into a wan, predictable caper half an hour before the final credits. By the end we're ready for 'Red' to fade to black."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 137 words, 10/14/10
Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...the subgenre has been given a name: the geriaction picture. These films aren't sequels; they're creakquels. Not the 'A-Team' but the Gray Team."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 771 words, 10/15/10
David Germain, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...fails to fill in the spaces between the action with anything terribly interesting.... aims for a mix of action and comedy but never quite delivers on either. The action is OK..."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 650 words, 10/14/10
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "The plot is hopelessly nonsensical, but the brisk pace and sly jokes make it an overachiever. Of course, a wily and highly skilled cast help too."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 63 words, 10/14/10
Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...essentially a 111-minute excuse to give Helen Mirren a machine gun. In that, it succeeds, but any other success comes purely from the game cast of veterans..."(See all of Keith Staskiewicz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 10/15/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...uneven... If the story made more sense and the humor were more abundant, this could have been a bona-fide winner.... forgettably mediocre."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 531 words, 10/15/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "...enjoyable-but-forgettable... the kind of thing one might bypass in the theater, recognizing that the multiplex is just a brief stop on the movie's road to DVD."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,008 words, 10/12/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "The story is not much, and the action sequences are the usual thudding, scrambling displays of heavy weaponry and physically improbable derring-do."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 894 words, 10/15/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...a film that's too pleased with itself for too little reason.... the problem is not that it lacks puckish charm, it's that there is too little of it to go around."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 10/15/10
Kyle Smith, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...fits seniors with grenade launchers instead of slippers. I say it's about time.... much of it is smart... as zippy on its feet as a third-grader."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 631 words, 10/15/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "For an hour or so, this PG-13 adaptation of a far grislier graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner strikes an engagingly sadistic tone."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 10/15/10
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Not the best. Not the worst. Just the classiest -- Helen Mirren (and Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich and Brian Cox and Richard Dreyfuss) can spruce up any pulp."(See all of Robert Wilonsky's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 827 words, 10/13/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's a hoot to watch the elegant Mirren shift from high heels to combat boots, as she gamely goes from arranging flowers to being locked and loaded."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 10/16/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "As all-star action romps go, 'Red' doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but it's a lot more fun than 'The Expendables.' "(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 124 words, 10/14/10
KEY CITIES (16 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...joins a long and mostly undistinguished line of recent movies whose upper-middle-aged stars play AARP members who refuse to go gently into genteel cinematic dotage."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 440 words, 10/15/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...has the cool, swaggering vibe of an action movie where the actors and the audience know that nothing is really on the line.... the whole movie runs out of gas."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 419 words, 10/15/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...four-Oscar-winners plus Bruce Willis. But despite that and a winning concept, director Robert 'Flightplan' Schwentke never lets this one achieve takeoff."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 420 words, 10/15/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...a spoofy comment on aging-boomer films... halfway between comedy and action, and it doesn't quite work as either."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 377 words, 10/15/10
Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...the latest in the recent string of movies that make a strong argument that old action heroes can kick just as much butt as the up-and-comers."(See all of Gary Dowell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 10/15/10
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "What might have been a guilty-pleasure romp is hobbled by poor direction, sloppy pacing, and a story line that can't decide whether it's farce or a retread."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 10/15/10
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: EXCELLENT(cg) "We're smiling from the get-go because we're in the capable company of pros like Malkovich, Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 367 words, 10/15/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Casting of spry former spies is on target, even if the movie isn't.... like a game of Chutes and Ladders with bullets flying everywhere, but everyone in it is terrific."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 451 words, 10/15/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "An action-picture-with-comedy suggested by a graphic novel, it's predictable, simple, familiar. But there's verve in the staging and editing..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 255 words, 10/15/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "...except for Malkovich, who shines as a lunatic acid casualty, the comedy consists of toothless bickering instead of sharp observations about age or espionage."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 370 words, 10/15/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD(cg) "...wears its shawl proudly, with even Ernest Borgnine and Richard Dreyfuss popping in for career therapy. It's an amusing geriatric uprising..."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 519 words, 10/14/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...compared to such generic, flashy duds as 'Knight and Day' or 'The Expendables,' 'Red' goes down like a flute of fine champagne. Here's how it's done, youngsters."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 583 words, 10/15/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Robert Wilonsky, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Not the best. Not the worst. Just the classiest -- Helen Mirren (and Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich and Brian Cox and Richard Dreyfuss) can spruce up any pulp."(See all of Robert Wilonsky's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 827 words, 10/13/10
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: MODERATE(cg) "...a disappointing amount of 'Red' limps along, failing to grapple with its own shifts in tone or to structure the action in a way that builds in any satisfying way."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 10/14/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "A good-natured, occasionally macabre, occasionally subversive entertainment.... It could all be one big cliché if not for the Oscar-rich cast."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 465 words, 10/14/10
Tasha Robinson, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "There's a restrained cool in pretending that these characters are so capable that they never feel pressure or break a sweat, but if they aren't challenged, what's the point?"(See all of Tasha Robinson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 379 words, 10/14/10
Nick Schager, Slant: POOR(cg) "...exhibits all the get-up-and-go of a grandpa on the verge of an afternoon nap.... this tepid tagline of a movie gets absolutely nothing right about its own premise."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 703 words, 10/13/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "As all-star action romps go, 'Red' doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but it's a lot more fun than 'The Expendables.' "(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 124 words, 10/14/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...the film doesn't build to anything surprising or interesting and the energy dissipates drastically. The pleasures of Mirren and massive weapons only take you so far."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 565 words, 10/15/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "The story is not much, and the action sequences are the usual thudding, scrambling displays of heavy weaponry and physically improbable derring-do."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 894 words, 10/15/10
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...jovial and rejuvenating... The actors are seasoned enough to trample on the nonsense of the narrative and click into a busy comic rhythm."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 447 words, 10/25/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...a film that's too pleased with itself for too little reason.... the problem is not that it lacks puckish charm, it's that there is too little of it to go around."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 10/15/10
Dana Stevens, Slate: WEAK "...tries too hard and not hard enough... never manages to convince us that anyone involved -- characters, actors, filmmakers or audience -- is having any fun."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 586 words, 10/14/10
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: MODERATE "The jokes occasionally fall flat and the action scenes rarely sizzle, but only a curmudgeon could entirely resist the laid-back charms..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 980 words, 09/29/10
John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...what keeps the movie going is the gameness of the cast... The actual mechanics of the plot might eventually get so convoluted they have to be accepted on faith..."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 09/29/10
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...a film that's too pleased with itself for too little reason.... the problem is not that it lacks puckish charm, it's that there is too little of it to go around."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 683 words, 10/15/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "Despite flaws in the storytelling and the rough transitions in the shifting of tone, benefits immensely from its highly accomplished all-star cast..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 985 words, 10/03/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: WEAK "The story is not much, and the action sequences are the usual thudding, scrambling displays of heavy weaponry and physically improbable derring-do."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 894 words, 10/15/10
15.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Red (2010)'s reviews are separated by an average 15.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Red (2010) (48 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Red (2010)'s reviews cover 90.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 26,158 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 545 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Red (2010) Coverage, Volume & Length (48 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 6.8 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Red (2010)'s reviews on average broke 6.8 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Red (2010)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Red (2010) (48 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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