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Writer: Jon & Eric Hoeber (screenplay) Warren Ellis & Cully Hamner (graphic novel)
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary Louise Parker, John Malcovich, Karl Urban, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, and a bunch of other people
Synopsis
an assasination attempt is made on an ex- CIA agent marked Retired Extremely Dangerous. he gathers the whole retired gang back together and they wreak some havoc on those whippersnappers in charge. all this plotting and uncovering happens whilst the willis is wooing/ kidnapping/ protecting his pension operator.
MOster
This movie is funnier than I expected it to be. I have kind of a thing for Mary Louise, and that doesn't hurt. It isn't particularly special in the technical, though it exceeds some much more arrogant, much more expensive fare.
As the youngest of the bunch, Ms. Parker was definitely trying the hardest. Everyone else, playing old friends, eased into their roles nicely. I was annoyed by meek, old Bruce Willis for the first few minutes; but he eased down a half a notch and everything was fine. I'm a fan of Malkovich in general and here he wasn't quite as ridiculous as he's been. That fits perfectly with the theme of the film: He, too, was kind of on a vacation. They were straightforward, gentle performances.
When they, characters and actors alike, started to come back to work for the third act--when, in fact, the movie started to get back on the rails--it lost its punch. Before that point it was a fun, semi-farcical exercise. But when the plot took over and the characters had an endpoint and a plan with maps and things I started to lose interest. While I wouldn't quite classify this point as a "quibble," it shouldn't stop you from watching the movie. You'll still have a nice time.
The Woman
let me just say i went into this with really low expectations and i found myself pleasantly surprised. both of us laughed quite frequently throughout this entire production. the minute the action scene where the willis steps out of the stolen police car, while it's spinning out of control to shoot at the oncoming karl urban, this movie had me. it's utter ridiculousness merged quite well with the comedy. i feel the need to compare this as the more successful version of "the expendables" where that was all testosterone, explosions and a penis and ruler contest with some really lame attempt at humor, this was old people action done right. it still had lots of explosions and testosterone, but there was a little estrogen mixed in there to balance it out. and actual humor. here's a tid bit of knowledge for you hollywood: tough chicks are awesome. they appeal to the chicks AND guys. guys just swinging their dicks about gets old pretty fast. i'm not saying that mary louise parker was tough in anyway. she was pretty useless, but she had sarcasm, which is a quality i hold dear. helen mirren was the tough chick, although probably not appealing to the guys on the sexual level, there is still that lure of toughness equals hotness no matter the age. that giant metaphor of a chick handling a howitzer...am i wrong? is that just my deluded chromosomes talking?
anyway. i liked this movie.
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