Watch Running Red For Free

Why so much hype?

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Be careful!!!! SPOILERS HERE!!!! Don`t read this if you haven't seen the film, and you are going to see it.Well, you are warned. What I wanted to tell you about this film is that is totally impossible how it starts!!! The film starts with some action in... Spain?? We can see how some Russian "marines" have to destroy a Chemical Plant where someone is manufacturing Chemical weapons. Of course, the "marines" kill everybody, and a MIG??? destroys the factory....Well, I can't believe this!! This is totally stupid!! Spain is a member of the European Union, very civilized, very Rich (number 8 of the world), and the situation described at the film is totally impossible!I feel ofended, i can't really believe that at this days, there is still people stupid enough to direct an stupid film like this one!And, please..... no one in Spain uses that stupid "hat" worn by the soldier who speaks with the secretary. Ah, of course, the name of the secretary is Maria.... is this an obsession? Not all the Spanish girls are named Maria (in spite of the fact that, for example, I have fallen in love with a girl named Maria :P)

Spoilers herein.Cat's eye comments follow*.This is a film about a woman (played by Lisa Arturo, one of the faux lesbians from `American Pie 2') who works as a scientist in a secret plant in California developing outlawed biological weapons. She has many personal problems and has been through several marriages, murdering her last one in a fit of pique. Because her work is so unique and valuable, the authorities covered it up and placed her next door to a Russian defector (played by Jeff Speakman). That aging defector (code named Running Red) did not supply any useful intelligence to the CIA so has to `earn' his keep by looking out for his neighbor. He is having an affair with her, here noted by her stealing his `banana.' His .His daft wife has no idea of his past, his soured deal with the CIA or his affair with the neighbor, despite her hints. She is played by Angie Everhart who doesn't even know she is in a movie and believes her husband has had a job for the last ten years.The story is rather predictable. Old Soviet special ops buddies show up. They kill his lover (the woman he was supposed to protect), so he kills them. Along the way, we never know whether the resurfaced Russians are in cahoots with the CIA or not. Sometimes they seem to take control of the whole movie, for instance when the hero Greg is sent on a wild goose chase into literally another movie: a bus lures him out of `Running Red' into `Red Heat' in an attempt to fool him into thinking their purpose, one of Russian law enforcement. A bus gets hit by a train.All this oblique storytelling is symbolized by Greg's ability to shoot around corners by having bullets bounce off mirrored surfaces. This narrative is challenging and not for the simpleminded; for instance, many viewers may miss the importance of the bug exterminator.*Cat's eye comments result when nothing intelligent can be said of a film.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 4: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This movie, like so many others of its ilk, uses the retired soldier with skeletons in his closet. In this incarnation of this familiar set-up, the 'hero' is a former Soviet special forces soldier who fled to the U.S., with many of his comrades, after the fall of the old communist regime. The reasoning is he had done so many despicable things in the name of Mother Russia, that his life would certainly be forfeit if he were ever caught. Sound promising? I thought so.Anyway, as often happens to ex-special forces officers trying to start a new life in the suburbs with their beautiful, super-model wife, child, white house with a picket fence, and an SUV, his old army buddies came looking for him to get a favor. Violence and mayhem ensue.The one thing that makes this film particularly noteworthy, however, is the bus chase. I'm a big fan of chase scenes, and this one caught my eye. In fact, it caught my eye so much that I remembered it when, soon after and completely out of the blue, I watched a movie that I haven't seen in years -- Red Heat, with Schwarzenegger. The similarities were so striking that I waited for days until Running Red was on again, and I tuned in just for that chase scene. IT WAS THE SAME SCENE. I don't mean it was a similar chase with buses. I mean the editor from Running Red took the film from Red Heat and spliced it into his own movie!I guess this kind of result should be expected from some low-budget fare, but the worst thing is that they included the part with Schwarzenegger destroying that famous fountain in Chicago, while the chase in Running Red was supposedly taking place in Detroit.I guess this is a satisfying enough movie if you want to see some overly melodramatic acting with amusing violence, all of it kept low on the moralizing, but sometimes the laziness of film-makers in this genre astounds even me.

I saw an answer print of this film at the lab. I thought it was really well directed for a low budget action film. Also I thought Jeff Speakman was better than I had seen him before. All in all a nice effort by the filmmakers.