RED 2 (2013)
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Retired spies must team up to stop a former physicist from detonating a nuclear weapon in Moscow.
The story
Three years after the events of the previous film, ex-CIA operative Frank Moses tries to lead a normal life with girlfriend Sarah Ross. However, his former associate Marvin Boggs warns him that enemies are still after them. After Marvin's apparent death, Frank is interrogated by government agents at an FBI facility. When corrupt agent Jack Horton and private military contractors ambush the facility, Frank is forced to go on the run. With the help of the still-living Marvin, Frank and Sarah must navigate a web of international conspiracies involving a clandestine Cold War operation to smuggle a nuclear weapon into Russia.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Three years after the events of the previous film, ex-CIA operative Frank Moses tries to lead a normal life with girlfriend Sarah Ross. After Marvin Boggs' car explodes, Frank attends Marvin's funeral, where he is subsequently interrogated by government agents. When corrupt agent Jack Horton and private military contractors ambush the FBI facility, Frank escapes with the help of the still-living Marvin. They discover they were targeted for their involvement in Operation Nightshade, a Cold War plot to smuggle a nuclear weapon into Russia involving physicist Dr. Edward Bailey. Frank, Marvin, and Sarah travel to Paris to find an information dealer known as "The Frog," while being pursued by MI6 agent Victoria and another contract killer, Han Cho-Bai. They eventually discover that Bailey is alive in a London asylum. After infiltrating the asylum and bringing Bailey to a safehouse, they learn he hid the bomb in the Kremlin. The team travels to Moscow, where they find the suitcase bomb powered by red mercury. During the mission, Victoria helps them infiltrate the asylum but later reveals she was hired to kill them. In Moscow, Bailey admits he leaked word of Project Nightshade and intends to detonate the bomb. He kills Katja Petrokovich and frames Frank before escaping to an Iranian embassy in London. Frank eventually teams up with Han to stop Bailey. Sarah takes the Iranian ambassador hostage while the team enters the embassy disguised as plumbers. Bailey kills Horton and takes Sarah hostage, fleeing to Han's plane. In a final confrontation, Frank forces Bailey to leave with Sarah and the suitcase. The plane explodes, killing Bailey, but Frank reveals he hid the bomb aboard the plane. The film ends with Frank, Marvin, and Sarah in Caracas.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 116
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Dean Parisot
- Writers
- Jon Hoeber · writer; Erich Hoeber · writer
- Cast and characters
- Bruce Willis; John Malkovich; Mary-Louise Parker; Anthony Hopkins · Edward Bailey; Helen Mirren; Catherine Zeta-Jones; Byung Hun Lee · Han Cho-Bai; Brian Cox; Neal McDonough; David Thewlis · The Frog
- Genres
- action; comedy
- Themes
- Espionage; Conspiracy; Redemption
- Tone and mood
- Action-packed; Comedy; Over-the-top
- Premise and plot tags
- Sequel; Spy; Nuclear Threat
- Source material / true-story basis
- comic book series Red by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner
- Franchise connections
- Red
- Content notes
- Violence
- Reception
- The film received generally mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the cast but criticizing the over-the-top action and lack of narrative coherence.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 47 · scale: 100 · review count: 38; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Favorite Thriller Movie · Nomination · 2013 · Nominated; Best Comedy · Nomination · 2013 · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in Montreal because of a 25 percent tax credit and its resemblance to European cities.; The childhood photo of Han Cho-bai in the film is actually a photo of Lee Byung-hun with his late father.; The film was originally scheduled for release on August 2, 2013, before being moved to July 19.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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