RED 2

I loved the first RED  movie, Willis, Parker, Malkovich, Mirren, Freeman, Dreyfus. It was a hoot, the old ops in the field, so I expected I would like the sequel, cleverly entitled RED 2. 

I loved the second one, too.

It is even sillier, less realistic, and everything a summer movie for grown ups should be. Old pro actors having fun, clever dialog, cartoon violence, and the last drop on a long and tall roller coaster. Bang! Boom! Whack! Screech!

Some nice touches the youngsters will miss: At a funeral early on, the organist plays "You Can't Always Get What You Want," an obvious homage to the funeral scene in "The Big Chill."   

Mirren pretends to be the Queen of England in an asylum scene. How many time has she played the role? And Anthony Hopkins ...

Most of the first cast is back, with some new/old faces, and as an old guy, I hooted and hollered. Silly? Absolutely. Fun? You betcha.

I found that reviewers who didn't like it tend to be young, no surprise. The younger they are, the less they approved of it. Rotten Tomatoes critics give it 41%, but the audiences are at 70%.

As is often the case, the critics are ... well, let's just say ... uninspiring. A few words for them:

There will come a time, I am here to tell you, that you will start to root for the old guys (and gals). You won't remember I told you so, and by then probably I will be gone, but gray and wrinkles are out there, kids, and if you make it past your extended adolescence, they will be waiting for you ...