The rare sequel that matches if not outright surpasses the original, Red 2 is funny, exciting and a hell of a lot of fun.

Red 2 finds former CIA operative Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) enjoying domestic bliss with his girlfriend Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) completely oblivious to the fact that she is getting bored with the safe life he has carved out. This all changes with the appearance of former colleague Marvin (John Malkovich). Before he knows it, Frank is up to his armpits in enemies and former friends turned enemies. He is put on the trail of a missing scientist (Anthony Hopkins)  who created a powerful WMD with CIA agent Jack Horton (Neal McDonough) hot on his heels.

Red 2 is roughly as complicated and twisty turny as the first film but like that one, the movie is so fun and moves at such a brisk pace, the density of the plot does not bog down. The writing is crisp and smart while not getting in the way of the action but at the same time supports the action in an organic way. It never feels like you are just waiting for the next action set piece because the story and character interaction is so strong.

Like the first film, the action is bombastic and often completely outside the realm of reality but it is also so cool that it doesn’t really matter. Who gives a shit about realism when it is so fun and exciting? Bruce Willis really shines here and early on we have a scene that is more Die Hard in 10 minutes than all of the last Die Hard movie. The staging and choreography is very precise and hits meticulously but still looks loose and spontaneous. This is kind of an amazing thing to have something this slick and stylized still feel free-wheeling and in the moment. That it is fun on top of all that is just an added bonus.

Performance has so much to do with this as the cast is amazing and everyone brings their A-game. As mentioned, Willis is on point here and makes the aforementioned Die Hard sequel look even worse for what it could have been. John Malkovich shines as Marvin and steals every scene he is in. It is a ton of fun to watch a normally serious actor really cut loose and have fun. That fun is infectious and makes a lot of difference. Likewise, Helen Mirren is a joy once again as Victoria and it is similarly fun to see her let go and have fun. Mary-Louise Parker gets to stretch her legs a bit more and take more of an active part in the proceedings and yet again looks like she is having a blast. Neal McDonough is, as ever, terrific as the main villain. Byun-hun Lee is terrific as an assassin with a score to settle with Frank and not only delivers on the martial arts action but brings some laughs as well. Catherine Zeta-Jones is awesome as Frank’s former paramour and current rival.  And we haven’t even gotten to Anthony Hopkins yet. Good god.

It is kind of surprising that Red 2 has a different director than the first given that this one has such a consistent tone and visual language but given that we are talking about Galaxy Quest director Dean Parisot it makes more sense.  It felt right at home compared to the last film and even moves things forward a bit.  Sure there might be one twist too many and the turns still follow genre cliches but like the first movie this one transcends that and uses cliche to its advantage by turning things on their head and keeping you guessing even when you will probably have figured out a lot of it early on.

Conclusion [9.5 out of 10]

Red 2 is a pretty much perfect sequel and is exactly what a summer blockbuster action movie should be. The performances are terrific, the dialogue is funny, the action is great and it is all just a lot of fun. If you are looking for something dark and somber then this will not be for you but if you are into a fun action flick with all the trimmings then you really can’t go wrong here.