RED 2 (2013) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Action Comedy |
Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Making Of Deleted Scenes Outtakes |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2013 | ||
Running Time | 111:04 | ||
RSDL / Flipper | Dual Layered | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Dean Parisot |
Studio
Distributor |
Icon Entertainment | Starring |
Bruce Willis Mary-Louise Parker John Malkovich Helen Mirren Anthony Hopkins Catherine Zeta-Jones |
Case | ? | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music | Alan Silvestri |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 2.35:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English for the Hearing Impaired | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Back in 2011, I reviewed RED here which has now been followed by a sequel, RED 2. In this review I will be covering the DVD release of this new film.
As you may recall RED stands for Retired Extremely Dangerous and most of the main characters in the first film are back for another action-packed, wise-cracking escapade. As this films starts Frank (Bruce Willis) has settled down with the ex-public servant Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) but life has become a bit unexciting for her and she is keen to get Frank back into some sort of action. When Marvin (John Malkovich) turns up out of the blue to tell Frank that the CIA are trying to eliminate them because they have been implicated in a case from years before, it may be the opportunity that Sarah is after. They go on the run as they are pursued by Jack Horton (Neil McDonough) from the CIA. He soon brings in help from Victoria (Helen Mirren) hiring her to kill Frank. He follows this up by hiring Korean hitman, Han (Byung-hun Lee) and the chase continues in earnest. Frank & Marvin decide the only way for them to get out of this is to track down a scientist, Bailey (Anthony Hopkins) who was involved in the previous case. He created a portable bomb which they managed to sneak into the Kremlin many years earlier. This of course brings another character from the first film back into the action, Ivan (Brian Cox), former Russian agent and Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones), current Russian agent. Also appearing is David Thewlis as information seller, The Frog.
If you saw the first film, you know what to expect here, wisecracks, great stunts, explosions, gunplay and more wisecracks. This one is just as good as the first one, with lots of fun to be had. There are some fun new character interactions especially the running joke about Marvin giving Sarah weapons and Frank getting upset about it. Anthony Hopkins is a wonderful new addition adding loads to the mix as the seemingly completely potty, Dr Bailey. There are also some great action sequences with another similar stunt to the one in the first film where Willis steps out of a moving car. The plot is a little slight once again but probably a bit better than the first film plot. There are some nice graphic novel style scene transitions which remind you of the source of these characters.
A whole lot of fun!
The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The picture was very clear and sharp throughout for DVD.
The colour is very good with no issues to report.
There were no noticeable artefacts beyond a little motion blur.
There are English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles available which are clear and easy to read.
The layer change at 83:20 caused a bad pause.Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is very good.
This disc contains a English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1.
Dialogue was generally clear and easy to understand although a little too low in the mix making the subtitles useful.
The music featured a pumping score by Alan Silvestri and a variety of songs.
The surround speakers were used a lot for explosions, gunfire and various other action sequences.
The subwoofer also got a pretty good workout for explosions, gunshots and the music.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The menu featured music.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
As far as I can tell the Region 1 release does not include the special features but I have not been able to locate a reliable DVD review. This movie is also available on Blu-ray both here and in the US. Buy Local
The video quality is excellent.
The audio quality is very good.
The extras are worthwhile.Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | SONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output |
Display | Sharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
Amplification | Marantz SR5005 |
Speakers | Monitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer |