Red: Fun for all ages.

Ex black - ops CIA agent Frank Moses has settled into retirement and finds it to be less than what he expected. That all changes when assassins try to kill him and Sarah, the woman he loves. In order to settle the score and figure out the reasons why he is being targeted, Frank reassembles his old black ops team and they get back to work.

The best part of the film was watching a group of supremely talented actors take what could have been a very pedestrian action comedy and turn it into a breezy, enjoyable and ultimately satisfying movie experience. John Malkovich was convincing and hilarious as the paranoid/crazy Marvin, Helen Mirren changed it up and played the 50 cal machine gun blasting badass Victoria, Mary Louise Parker was delightful as Sarah, the “desperately seeking excitement” muse to Frank (played by Bruce Willis). Willis’ performance in particular stood out for he brought an emotional depth to Frank which most of his recent action roles have been missing. The story chugged along, minus a few dull spots here and there, at an agreeable pace and succeeded in either keeping the audience entranced with stylish action sequences or chuckling with delight at the antics of the Retired Extremely Dangerous agents.

Not as hardcore in tone and action as The A-Team or outlandishly ridiculous as Salt, Red found a good balance of both gun play and one liners to make the two hours the audience spent with it a fun time.

Grade: B

Salt: Been there, Seen that.

When she is accused of being a Russian sleeper spy by a defector, CIA agent Evelyn Salt goes on the run and tries to stay ahead of the Government agents who are pursuing her. In her quest to clear her name she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to push America and Russia to the edge of war.

Who is Evelyn Salt? This was the question that was posed throughout the film and the plot device that drove the story forward. For the most part however, Salt wanted the audience to be aware of this storyline only on the surface and chose to focus more on the number of ways that Angelina Jolie could look badass either by utilizing heavy weaponry or punching someone’s teeth out. Jolie pulled off the physical stuff without breaking much of a sweat, making Evelyn Salt the kind of female CIA agent you did not want to cross paths with, but her story and her efforts to clear her name, save her husband and unmask the true conspiracy behind why she was accused of being a Russian spy got lost in the shuffle of fist-fights, car chases and other action sequences that the audience had seen before (and in better movies). Without that emotional core to the story, the film just felt like another mindless actioner and Salt's quest, while visually thrilling, rang hollow. An example of this would be Salt's relationship with her husband Michael. The audience was never shown the particulars of that relationship (because trust me, they didn’t just meet up via eharmony) so when his ultimate fate was revealed, their reaction was undoubtedly like Salt’s (unemotional and uninterested).

There was a definite feeling of “been there, done that” after the credits started rolling on Salt so if you are looking for a half-hearted attempt at an action thriller that will deliver at least entertainment on the surface, check it out.

Grade: C