Plot[edit]
Frank Moses (Willis), a retired black-ops CIA agent, lives alone in Cleveland. Lonely, Frank creates
opportunities to talk to Sarah Ross (Parker), a worker at the General Services
Administration's pension office in Kansas City, by tearing up his pension checks and calling to say
they haven't arrived.
One night, an assassination squad raids Frank's house and attempts to kill him but he easily wipes
them out. Knowing they will have tapped his phone, he believes Sarah will be targeted. In Kansas
City Sarah refuses to go with him so he kidnaps her. Meanwhile CIA agent William Cooper (Urban)
is assigned by his boss Cynthia Wilkes (Pidgeon) to hunt down and kill Frank.
To find out who is targeting him Frank tracks down his old associates for help. He goes to New
Orleans, Louisiana, and visits his CIA mentor Joe Matheson (Freeman), who tells him the same hit
squad murdered a New York Times reporter. An agent posing as a police officer tries to abduct
Sarah but Frank returns in time. Cooper chases them but Frank tricks the police into arresting
Cooper and escapes with Sarah. The two head to New York City and find clues left by the reporter
which lead them to a hit list.
They find Marvin Boggs (Malkovich), another old associate and a paranoid conspiracy theorist, who
tells them the people on the list, including Frank and Marvin, are connected to a secret 1981 mission
in Guatemala. A pilot on the list, Gabriel Singer (Remar), tells them the mission involved extracting a
person from a Guatemalan village. Singer is shot by a helicopter-borne machine-gunner and the
team escapes as Cooper closes in.
Ex-Russian secret agent Ivan Simanov (Cox), in return for a favor, helps Frank infiltrate the CIA
headquarters archive. Henry the records keeper (Borgnine) has much respect for Frank and simply
hands him the Guatemala file. Frank confronts Cooper in his office and the two fight. Frank is
wounded, and Joe arrives to help extract the team. They hide out in the home of
former wetwork agent Victoria Winslow (Mirren), who treats Frank's wound and joins the team.
The file leads them to Alexander Dunning (Dreyfuss), an arms trafficker. Joe poses as a buyer and
enters Dunning's mansion with Frank and Marvin while Victoria and Sarah keep watch outside. They
interrogate Dunning, who tells them the target for extraction was Lieutenant Robert Stanton
(McMahon), whose Senator father organised the extraction via Dunning. Stanton is now Vice
President and has ordered the assassination of people involved in the mission to hide the fact that
he massacred village civilians.
The FBI surround Dunning's mansion. Cooper tries to negotiate Frank's surrender, and Frank tells
him about the Vice President's treachery. The terminally ill Joe pretends to be Frank, walks outside,
and is killed by unknown shooter. The confusion, as well as Victoria's cover fire, buys the team time
to leave the mansion but Sarah is captured. Frank calls Cooper from Cooper's own family's home
phone and warns him against harming Sarah.
The team kidnaps Stanton to trade for Sarah. Dunning arrives at the meeting point. Dunning injures
Stanton, revealing himself and Wilkes to be behind the assassinations and that Stanton was never
involved. Disgusted with Wilkes' corruption, Cooper pretends to arrest Frank but instead shoots
Wilkes. Marvin and Victoria kill Dunning's bodyguards, and Frank punches Dunning in the throat.
Cooper lets Frank's team go as Marvin kills Dunning. As they leave, Sarah is eager to accompany
Frank on a new mission.
Ivan reminds Frank of his favor. A few months later, Frank and Marvin are fleeing Moldovan troops
with a stolen nuclear device, with Marvin wearing a dress in a wooden wheelbarrow being pushed by
Frank.
Cast[edit]
Bruce Willis as Frank Moses
Morgan Freeman as Joe Matheson
John Malkovich as Marvin Boggs
Helen Mirren as Victoria Winslow
Karl Urban as William Cooper
Mary-Louise Parker as Sarah Ross
Rebecca Pidgeon as Cynthia Wilkes
Brian Cox as Ivan Simanov
Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Dunning
Julian McMahon as Vice President Robert Stanton
Ernest Borgnine as Henry, The Records Keeper
James Remar as Gabriel Singer
Production[edit]
Gregory Noveck, a representative of DC Comics working in Hollywood to get their titles made into
films, wanted the comic developed, but Warner Bros. was not interested. The creators of the comic
exercised their right to go elsewhere, but this required approval from all divisions of Warner Bros.,
including television, before it could be approved. After several years, in 2008, Noveck was allowed to
take the project to Mark Vahradian at Di Bonaventura Productions. Unusually, this made it the first
film from DC not produced by Warner Bros., after the purchase. [5]
In June 2008, Summit Entertainment announced plans to adapt Warren Ellis and Cully
Hamner's Red. Red was adapted for the big screen by brothers Erich and Jon Hoeber, who also
wrote the adaptations of Whiteout and Alice. The project was produced by Lorenzo di
Bonaventura (GI Joe, Transformers).[6]
By April 2009, Bruce Willis was reportedly in discussions with Summit to take the starring role of
Frank Moses.[7] It was reported in July 2009 that Morgan Freeman was in talks to co-star alongside
Willis in the film.[8] Also in July 2009, Robert Schwentke, the director of The Time Traveler's
Wife and Flightplan, was in negotiations to direct Red.[9] In August 2009, Schwentke confirmed
to MTV News that he was on board. He stated that he loved the script, but differences existed
between the comic and the movie, stating; "It's very funny, which the comic book isn't ... It's not as
violent as the comic book," and "The script that I've read is obviously different from the comic,
because I don't think the comic gives you enough for a two-hour movie." [10]
In November 2009, Helen Mirren was reported to be engaged to work alongside Freeman and Willis
in the film.[11] Also in November 2009, John C. Reilly and Mary-Louise Parker were in negotiations to
join the cast. Reilly would play a retired CIA agent who is paranoid that everyone is out to kill him.
Parker would play the romantic interest, a federal pension worker who becomes embroiled in the
Willis character's struggle to stay alive.[12] In the same month, Julian McMahon, Ernest
Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox entered negotiations to join the cast.[13]
In December 2009, creator Warren Ellis stated on his mailing list: "Read the RED script. Not bad.
Not the book, but not bad. Funny. Especially when you know the casting. Very tight piece of work.
Talked to the producers last week. They're all kind of giddy over the casting coups. Who wouldn't
want to see Helen Mirren with a sniper rifle?" [14] Also in December 2009 Summit Entertainment
announced a release date of October 22, 2010. [15] The same month, James Remar was cast in an
unspecified role,[16] in addition to Karl Urban as "Cooper".[17] In January 2010, reportedly John
Malkovich had signed to star opposite Bruce Willis, replacing John C. Reilly, who exited the role in
late December.[18]
Principal photography began on January 18, 2010, in Toronto, Canada.[19] Red was shot in and
around the Toronto metropolitan area for nine weeks before moving on to the road and ending
in New Orleans in late March for the final two weeks of principal photography. [19] Filming in
the French Quarter of New Orleans commenced in March 2010.[20] Additional photography was shot
for a post-credits scene in Louisiana in August 2010.[21]
