GENRE: Action comedy
RUNNING TIME: 116 minutes
STARRING: Bruce Willis (Looper), John Malkovich (Warm Bodies), Mary-Louise Parker (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), and Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock)
DIRECTED BY: Dean Parisot (Fun with Dick and Jane)
RATING:
Currently screening at Ster-Kinekor Northgate.
PLOT: Retired secret agent Frank Mosses (Bruce Willis) is enjoying a life of domestic bliss and peace with his girlfriend Sarah Ross (Mary Lewis-Parker) when his old friend and colleague Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) reappears in his life with a warning that they are in danger. Marvin’s words ring true when he dies and Frank is taken in for an interrogation that turns deadly and thrusts him back into his dangerous past. Frank reunites with his old team of retired special agents view a view to hunt down a weapon of mass destruction. At the same time, he battles to keep his girlfriend safe and himself alive.
THE GOOD: The action sequences are not computer-generated as with most films these days. This makes the movie refreshing and appealing to fans of action-movies from the Die Hard era. Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker’s performances are great, the former with her action sequences and the latter with the comedic relief that she brings to the movie without trying too hard. The combination of the older action-man Bruce Willis with the younger Byun-hung Lee works very well and makes for enjoyable action sequences. It is a movie that has something for everyone.
THE BAD: The plot lacks direction, depth and structure, leaving the audience lost for most of the first half, and the fact that the story is set in a number of different countries does not help much. There is no clear villain and the attempt at humour with the one-liner does not achieve what it aims to. The movie is slow and characters do not develop or grow in any meaningful way. One feels the talent of some of the great names, namely John Malkovich and Anthony Hopkins, is wasted.
VERDICT: Despite the lack of depth in the story and the overwhelming number of characters, locations and villains, the movie still manages to offer moments of laughter and enjoyable action. This is an old-school type of action film that is trying to get the new generation by not being cheesy and serious, at certain points it hits the target and some points it misses. It is not going to be the most memorable of movies in 2013, but it is definitely worth the time and ticket price; a fun few hours of action and good laughs.
*SPECIAL THANKS TO STER-KINEKOR NORTHGATE FOR MAKING THE REVIEW POSSIBLE.
