Overall - 4.3 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis:

After trading in his professional past as a black-ops CIA operative for a new identity, Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is basking in normality. But he's forced to return to old habits when an assassin puts a target on his back and goes after the woman (Mary-Louise Parker) he loves. Helen Mirren and John Malkovich co-star as former members of Frank's team who reluctantly reassemble to save his life in this Golden Globe-nominated action-comedy.

Starring:

Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, Morgan Freeman

Director:

Robert Schwentke.

Blu-ray Release Date:

January 25, 2011

Subtitles:

English, Spanish

Rating:

Overall rating weighted as follows:

Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%,

Movie - it's just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio (4.6 Stars):

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

Subwoofer - 4.5 Stars

Dialog - 4.5 Stars

Surround Effects - 4.5 Stars

Dynamic Range - 5.0 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

There are parts of this movie I rewound, just to hear again. One scene in particular featured several different sounding guns firing with great surround effects, and then was followed by a very high pitch sound to simulate ringing of the ears. This type of dynamic range helped bring the action right into my living room. The witty dialog was easily heard. Explosions and the bass filled musical score rattled the couch.

Video (4.6 Stars):

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu Ray Edition used as basis for comparison

Color Accuracy - 4.5 Stars

Shadow detail - 5 Stars

Clarity - 4.0 Stars

Skin tones - 4.5 Stars

Compression - 5 Stars

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Video resolution: 1080p

Aspect ratio: 2.40:1

Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

I never thought I would enjoy seeing wrinkles and liver spots on people's faces, but this movie gave them to me in crisp clear detail without any apologies. The dark scenes in RED are great, and the shadow detail is some of the best I have seen. However, there were a few scenes in the beginning of the movie, where it appeared a little grainy, and not as clear as the rest of the movie.

Bonus Features (3.0 Stars):

Audio Commentary Track with retired CIA Field Officer

Deleted and Extended Scenes

Access Red: Immersive 6-part interactive feature including pop up trivia, videos, interviews and more

CIA Exposed

Note: Bonus Features are only on the Special Edition version of the Blu-ray.

Movie (3.5 Stars)

RED sounds like a ridiculous movie. Actors old enough to draw social security playing the parts of retired CIA agents forced into rip roaring action. Maybe that's why 4 Oscar winning actors are in this movie, to pull it off without making it look hokey. Needless to say, they did a good job of it. RED is a fun popcorn movie to watch. It has a lot of witty humor, great action scenes, a decent plot, and most importantly it has heart.

This movie doesn't get too sappy about getting old, but it does remind you that as you get older the things that are important to you change. RED is also a light love story, granted it's a little twisted, but it works with these characters. I do however wish the “old team had more camaraderie, and made me care about the characters more. The movie also spends a lot of time talking about the things they did when they were younger. Although this is quaint, it just makes me want to watch a movie about them when they were younger.