This vengeance film leans heavily on attack-and-avenge scenarios but performances by Brian Cox's and Tom Sizemore's take the stink out of any weaker scripting.
This vengeance film leans heavily on attack-and-avenge scenarios but performances by Brian Cox's and Tom Sizemore's take the stink out of any weaker scripting.
After his 14-year-old dog, Red, is senselessly murdered by three thrill-seeking teenagers, an aging recluse sets out seeking justice for his four-legged companion and finds himself gradually pushed to take extreme measures. Brian Cox and Tom Sizemore star in this adaptation of the Jack Ketchum novel scripted by Stephen Susco, and co-directed by Trygve Allister Diesen and Lucky McKee. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Once Avery's mission assumes a Freudian dimension, the allegory loses its moral force and changes from a meditation on justice, power and inequality into a gory melodrama.
It's Brian Cox's powerful but low-key performance and an abiding respect for animals that can't defend themselves that invest this simple, straightforward narrative with an understated passion that is unforgettable.
The movie's escalating series of tit-for-tat revenge ploys becomes a bit tedious even at 95 minutes, but Cox and a rich (if not always well-served) supporting cast that includes Tom Sizemore, Amanda Plummer, and Robert Englund keep it more than watchable.
A final quarter sentimental streak clashes with the masochistic pleasure of watching middle America close ranks against a victim who can't even bark in his own defense.
Along with Shotgun Stories, Felon, and a few other recent 'indie pulps,' Red is part of a wave of low-budget genre films that turn injustice into an abstract force ripping decent folk apart.
As Diesen fades out with a pat, artificially full-circle ending, we still appreciate how Red danced on the edge of the Movie-of-the-Week abyss and, thanks to Cox and the careful tending of Jack Ketchumâ(TM)s original novel, never fell in.
This movie has a humungous amount of problems, but I think that its absolute worst sin is that it'll make you think that the Jack Ketchum novel is some sort of Oprah's book of the month reject.
Are you woken up by your four legged friend? Their face is right in your face sniffing, licking and begging you to get up. No matter how much of a morning person you are not, it gives you the biggest smile every time, right? That is exactly the opening scene in the movie Red (not to be confused with Red starring Bruce
Willis). I was grinning from ear to ear because I have two dogs that wake me up that way. And let me tell you, I am NOT a morning person but smile every time this happens - even it is 6:00am.
So you are an animal lover. I got that. Now what would you do if someone killed your beloved animal right in front of you? I can tell you exactly what I would do but the police might come and put me in jail just for thinking it (What? I've seen Minority Report). Anyway, that was the impetus for what happens over the next 90 minutes or so in Red.
Now if you have followed my reviews for a while now, you know I have favorite actors that I hunt down and find what they are in. About six months ago I discovered Brian Cox in two independent movies (The Good Heart and The Escapist) and really enjoyed his performances in them. Last night when I went on Netflix the site suggested a movie with Tom Sizemore since I had just watched one of his a few nights ago (The Last Lullaby). It was Red and I noticed it starred Brian Cox. I hit play immediately! I started smiling at the sight of the dog and his owner, however, within a few minutes I was bawling like a baby.
For more of my review: http://www.tiredofpreviews.com/2011/09/red.html
September 24, 2011
Tired of Previews
Super Reviewer
This is Brian Cox's other Red. Stumbled across this and I thought wow, this is the best acting Cox has ever done. For every act of cruelty against every animal ever, this is for the justice that needs to be done. Sometimes there is justice. The only real problem for me here was that I wondered how much back-story
is too much. Would this movie have worked without all the time spent fleshing out the story of Cox's wife and children? I think so. And it would have made for a much tighter story. Still, I really think this is Cox at his best. I wonder what his next Red movie will be? : )
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