With so many comic books being adapted into movie these days, it's hard to keep them straight. But the latest, Red is as good as any that we've seen recently and certainly rivals the fun and excitement of another DC comics adapted film, "The Losers," which was released earlier this year. The film is based on the popular three-issue comic series about a group of retired CIA agents who are forced back into duty and was written by comic book icon Warren Ellis. The original source material was published by Homage Comics, which is an imprint of WildStorm, which is owned by DC Comics. The film is directed by Robert Schwentke ("The Time Travelers Wife") and based on a script by Erich and Joe Hoeber, who wrote "Whiteout," which was also based on a comic. The movie is produced by genre super-producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura ("Transformers") and Mark Verheiden ("Time Cop"), who himself is a popular comic book writer. The film also boasts a really exceptional cast of acclaimed and genre actors, which includes four Oscar winners, two Emmy winners and an Oscar nominee. The film stars Emmy Winners Bruce Willis ("Die Hard," "Moonlighting") and Mary-Louise Parker ("Red Dragon," "Weeds"), Oscar winners Morgan Freeman ("The Dark Knight"), Helen Mirren ("National Treasure: Book of Secrets"), Richard Dreyfuss ("Jaws") and Ernest Borgnine ("Escape From New York") and Oscar nominee John Malkovich ("Jonah Hex"), along with Karl Urban ("Star Trek"), Julian McMahon ("Fantastic Four") and Brian Cox ("X2: X-Men United").

What makes the film work is that all the actors know exactly what they are doing. They know what type of movie they are making and it seems like they are having fun while they are doing it. Especially Malkovich and Mirren who are both excellent in their roles. Willis has always been one of my favorite movie stars and this is a great role for him now at this age. The action he performs in the film is believable and not over the top like in some of his past movies. Willis also seems to be having a lot of fun with the role that allows him to mix the action hero he is known for along with his trademark sarcasm and humor. Making her welcomed return to the silver screen after dominating television sets for several seasons on her hit series, "Weeds," is actress Mary-Louise Parker who plays Willis' love interest with sweetness and charm. If there were something disappointing about the film I would have to say it is Morgan Freeman. The Oscar winning actor was not bad in the movie, on the contrary, he gives a wonderful performance but lets just say that I felt the actor was "short changed" by the script. Karl Urban who is really turning out to be an important actor to keep an eye on gives another commanding performance in this film and the supporting cast of veterans including Borgnine, Dryfuss and Cox are all a treat to see in their individual roles.

The film begins by introducing us to Frank (Willis), a retired black-ops CIA agent who is trying to live a quite life. That is until a group of assassins break into his home one night and try to kill him. Luckily Frank's skills are still intact and he gets the better of his assailants. Frank is now concerned that if someone is trying to kill him then they might go after the woman he loves, Sarah (Parker). But the things is, Sarah doesn't know who Frank is. He has fallen in love with her from a far and now must introduce himself by saving her and then kidnapping her so she will be safe. Frank quickly realizes that if he is in danger, so might the members of his old team be. First Frank and Sarah go to a retirement center to find Joe (Freeman). Joe is spending his days flirting with the young nurses at his rest home but is certainly alarmed when Frank comes to see him. Next they recruit Marvin (Malkovich), a wigged-out, paranoid gun expert who may be one card short of a full deck. The final member of the team is Victoria (Mirren), an ex-MI6 assassin who is now bored with her tranquil retired life.

The team breaks into CIA headquarters in order to find out why the government is trying to wipe them out. Turns out they all were witnesses to an event many years ago that could spell bad news for a powerful public official. The man in charge of hunting them down is Agent Cooper (Urban), a young, gutsy and relentless operative who reminds Frank of himself when he was young. Now the team must elude Cooper and infiltrate the public figures compound in order to get the truth and clear their names. But when things get more complicated than they expected and they suffer some casualties, Frank and his friends have to make some strange alliances and find help where they least expect it. On top of a great cast, the pacing was just really good. It was cut together well and moved with a nice flow. The action scenes and the special effects were well done, especially some of the fight choreography. But lets be honest ... it's just cool to see Helen Mirren shooting automatic machine guns and Uzis.

The tone of the picture was obviously well thought out and I think the filmmakers and cast captured the essence of Ellis' comic book while still making it fresh and original for the new medium. Fans of the book will enjoy the movie but at the same time you do not have to know the comic at all to enjoy this film. I recently saw Robert Schwentke's last picture, "The Time Travelers Wife" and enjoyed it but was really impressed that the director who made that could then transition into making a funny action movie. The script was solid and made sense along the way. But in the end it is Warren Ellis' great characters and the fantastic cast that make the movie so much fun to watch. Willis appears to be extremely relaxed in the role of Frank, as if the character was an old friend that he knew very well. He seemed very comfortable in the part. As did most of the cast including Malkovich, who I for one am pleased to see appearing in more mainstream movies like this and next summer's "Transformers 3." The actor's trademark whacky-ness fits his character well. Mirren lends her elegance and majesty to her role and has a sweet on-screen romance with Brian Cox's character. The only disappoint, once again, is that the great Morgan Freeman is not given enough to do and unfortunately his talent goes a bit to waste. Other than that, "Red," is a fun, fast-paced, satisfying action-comedy with great performances from its amazing cast.