I enjoyed the first Red, which boasted a cadre of senior citizen secret agents having to defend themselves when someone begins hunting them, all done with appealing performances, zippy dialogue and some slam bang action.  A second viewing of it recently was not as rewarding, as it didn’t hold up quite as well as I had hoped, yet I still believe it largely succeeded in its aims.

Red 2 brings back the same characters in much the same situation, as Bruce Willis is blamed for something and targeted for elimination.  He goes on the run with girlfriend Mary Louise Parker and enlists the help of crazy John Malkovich to uncover the secret behind the story.  Helen Mirren and Brian Cox make reappearances, joined this time by Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  All this star power is rather potent, and the stars seem to be enjoying the action and suspenseful silliness.

The story is, like that of Willis’ earlier A Good Day to Die Hard, quite impossible to believe under close scrutiny, but that seems to be the tenor of the times.  At least Dean Parisot’s film makes decent use of its global locations and invests a heavy dose of cynicism regarding governmental operations.  The stars are fun to watch and very appealing, especially Malkovich, who steals the movie in his every scene.  It doesn’t add up to a whole lot, but it’s fun while it lasts, and it is not a significant dropoff from the original, as so many sequels are nowadays.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  13 August 2013.