RedSave

Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) — a retired CIA black-ops assassin nicknamed 'Red' (Retired, Extremely Dangerous) — lives a quiet suburban life in Ohio. Frank's daily routine consists of waking up, having coffee, calling his pension benefits administrator Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), and reading novels alone in his small house. Sarah and Frank have developed a phone-only romantic relationship through her months of administering his pension cheques; they have never met in person. Their relationship is the film's primary romantic anchor; Frank's gradual willingness to pursue Sarah in person represents his emotional growth across the film.

Frank's quiet routine is interrupted when a kill squad attacks his Ohio home in the middle of the night. The squad's gunfire destroys substantial portions of Frank's house; he kills all of them in a brief but methodical defense. Frank realisizs someone has reactivated his black-ops file — his existence is no longer secret. He sets out to find his former CIA colleagues, the only people who might have intelligence about who is targeting him and why.

Frank's first stop is to visit Sarah Ross in Kansas City. Sarah, who has never met Frank in person, is initially horrified by his unannounced appearance — and then immediately captivated by his combination of dangerous skills and unexpected gentleness. Frank brings Sarah with him on his investigation, partly because she is now a target (her connection to him through pension records makes her vulnerable) and partly because he has genuine feelings for her. Their relationship development is the film's primary character-arc anchor.

Frank's next stop is to find his closest former CIA colleague — Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), now living in a New Orleans retirement home and dying of liver cancer. Joe is initially reluctant to engage with Frank's investigation, but his old-soldier loyalty wins out. Joe provides Frank with the intelligence that the operation against him originates from Vice President Robert Stanton (Julian McMahon), whose past CIA-coordinated war crimes Frank was scheduled to testify about. Joe is killed shortly after his briefing — by another kill squad sent to eliminate Red retirees.

Frank's next colleague to find is Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) — a former CIA operative whose extensive LSD-induced paranoia has made him a hermit living in an underground bunker outside Pensacola, Florida. Marvin is the film's primary comic-relief character; his combination of genuine combat skills and paranoid delusional thinking provides substantial comedic weight. Marvin agrees to join Frank's investigation after being convinced that the Vice President is genuinely targeting them.

The team is rounded out by Victoria (Helen Mirren) — a former MI-6 assassin now operating a flower shop in London while occasionally taking contract work. Victoria is the film's most-elegant character; her combination of practiced violence and elderly femininity provides substantial gender-role-subverting comedic weight. Mirren's casting was reportedly Schwentke's specific choice; she has said in interviews that the role allowed her to play a character her age usually does not get to play in mainstream cinema.

The team's investigation gradually reveals that Vice President Stanton has been using CIA black-ops resources to eliminate witnesses to his past crimes. Frank, Joe, Marvin, and Victoria were originally scheduled to testify before a Congressional subcommittee about Stanton's actions; his proactive assassination program was designed to eliminate them before the testimony could be delivered. The third-act climax involves the surviving team members infiltrating the White House to capture Stanton during a major political event.

Stanton is captured alive by the Red team; he is exposed publicly for his crimes through Frank's coordinated media leak. Stanton is removed from office and faces criminal prosecution. The film's epilogue shows Frank and Sarah's relationship continuing happily in Ohio; the team has retired permanently (or so they think); a planned reunion is hinted at for the future. A sequel, Red 2 (2013), would feature the same primary cast with the addition of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins.