Character page for the 2010 film Red.
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Main Characters
Frank Moses
- Played By: Bruce WillisDubbed By: Patrick Poivey (European French)
- Assassin Outclassin': People who try to kill him don't normally live to tell the tale.
- Back in the Saddle: After assassins try to kill him. The song of the same name plays when he fights Cooper.
- Bruiser with a Soft Center: He and Sarah bond over romance novels. That likely qualifies him
- Victoria literally calls him "gooey" on the inside and says she's always liked that he's a romantic.
- Combat Pragmatist: In his fight with Cooper, makes liberal use of office supplies and furniture as weapons.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Cooper is the only person who gives him any real problems.
- The Hero: Leads the other characters.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: He's trying, at least - he wants a life outside of the violence that draws him back in, but his normal life is both normal and achingly lonely. At the end of the first film, he manages to get the best of both worlds.
- Mandatory Unretirement: He was really making a go of it, until the wetworks team turned up on his doorstep.
- Master-Apprentice Chain: Frank reveals during his fight with William Cooper inside of Will's office that Frank had originally trained Will's combat instructor.
- A Match Made in Stockholm: With Sarah - though she was interested in him before the kidnapping, which nearly destroyed their relationship. She only, understandably, began to soften up when it became clear that, yes, he was CIA, and yes, people really are out to kill them both.
- Retired Badass: Was one of the most dangerous men on Earth before his retirement.
- Socially Awkward Hero: As shown in his interactions with Sarah, he has No Social Skills - well, he has more than Marvin, but that's not hard.
Marvin Boggs
- Played By: John Malkovich
- Badass Longcoat: He wears one briefly in the second movie.
- Berserk Button: Frank warns Sarah not to mention cell phones, or satellites.
- BFG: Carries one in a plush pig toy.
- Bond One-Liner: "Old man, my ass" after he blows up a younger assassin in the first movie.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's very good at what he does despite being highly paranoid and eccentric.
- Cassandra Truth/The Cuckoolander Was Right: In his backstory, he believed he was part of a secret government mind control project. As it happens, he's implied to have been a subject of MK-Ultra and was fed LSD daily for 11 years. In the films, he consistently spots threats (an apparently innocuous helicopter and woman who seemed to be coincidentally following them) before even Frank does.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Was fed LSD for 11 years, it kinda screwed with his head.
- Crazy Survivalist: His 'house' is a decoy, his real home is a bunker hidden under a car, and that's just the start of the crazy. However, he's not always wrong...
- Conspiracy Theorist: Absolutely. Though it has to be said, he has far better reason than most.
- Heroic Comedic Sociopath: Although a little more heroic than the typical examples, he's still an unstable nutcase gleefully Played for Laughs.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Shoots an RPG round in mid-flight with a revolver.
- Large Ham: Oh, yes, he can chew the scenery at times.
- Properly Paranoid: Due to his long exposure to LSD, it's one of his healthier quirks.
- Sensei for Scoundrels: In Red 2, Marvin keeps passing Sara covert ops tips or handguns despite Frank's objections.
- The Smart Guy: Messing with his head with the LSD didn't stop him from being smart, it just made him weird.
- Trigger-Happy: Asks Frank repeatedly if he wants Sarah killed (he knows a place with alligators for easy disposal), threatens a seemingly random woman (who turns out to actually be an assassin).
Joe Matheson
- Played By: Morgan FreemanDubbed By: Med Hondo (European French)
- Black Dude Dies First: Twice, technically. The first time was a fake-out, as the assassin underestimated him. The second time was for real, as he doubled for Frank in a long coat and low hat, serving as a distraction. As he points out, he's got stage four liver cancer, so he doesn't really mind.
- Dirty Old Man: At one point early in the movie, he gets a nurse to inspect a TV set just so he can look at her backside.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He allows himself to be shot by snipers so Frank and the others can make a getaway.
- The Lancer: Implied to be Frank's former mentor, and the person who has all the connections.
- Living on Borrowed Time: Joe has cancer.
- Retired Badass: He's old enough to call Frank, an example in his own right, 'kid'. Frank does not object. Truth in Television if their ages are anywhere near their actors - Freeman is just shy of twenty years older than Willis.
Victoria Winslow
- Played By: Helen Mirren
- Blood Knight: When Frank asks her how she managed to transition to normal life, she waxes lyrical about simple pleasures and routine... and then admits that she takes the odd contract on the side and she just can't seem to stop. It is, naturally, Played for Laughs.
- The Dreaded: She's indicated to be, individually, the deadliest of the bunch.
- Girl with Psycho Weapon: In this case, a ludicrously powerful machine gun.
- If I Wanted You Dead...: Invoked by Ivan, who notes that he knew she still loved him because she took the riskier path of shooting him three times in the chest, rather than in the head (which she was more than capable of), when ordered to kill him to prove her loyalty.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: While in a sniper's hole with Sarah, she cheerfully says she'd like to get to know her, take the time for some girl-talk... then adds perfectly calmly that she's never seen Frank like this about anyone, and that if Sarah breaks his heart, she'll kill her.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: In the final act of the first movie.
- Lady of War: Invariably well-dressed, a skilled close range fighter, and an utterly deadly markswoman.
- Never Mess with Granny: In her sixties, and kicks arse with the best of them.
- Non-Idle Rich: She provides the page image.
- Old Flame: Ivan's. She was ordered to shoot him to prove her loyalty, back when she was working at MI6, and she did - three times, in the chest. As he observes, when he woke up, he knew she still loved him because she hadn't put one through his head.
- Pretty in Mink: In the final act of the first film.
- Retired Badass: Kind of, she couldn't quite adapt to civilian life so she still takes jobs here and there.
- Shoot Your Mate: In the past, she shot Ivan. Didn't stop them from being together. It probably helps that it was on orders, and she took care to not make the lethal shot.
Enemies
William Cooper
- Played By: Karl UrbanDubbed By: Jean-Pierre Michaël (European French)
- Anti-Villain: Cooper is a Type IV. He's an entirely honest agent just doing his job. He even comes to Frank's side once he realizes the truth.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Wears a suit while doing his business, and he's the only person who can keep up with Frank in a straight fight, even managing to shoot him.
- Combat Pragmatist: Can fight with pretty much anything ranging from a coffee mug to a gun
- Heel–Face Turn: After realizing how corrupt his boss is, he wastes no time in telling her to go fuck herself and shooting her dead.
- I Have Your Wife: Takes Sarah captive at one point in the first movie. Frank retaliates by calling him from his house - albeit while his wife and children are playing out the back.
- Inspector Javert: To Frank, though he's both fair and by the book.
- Master-Apprentice Chain: A brief exchange during William and Franks' fight inside of Will's office reveals that William was trained in combat by Kordeski: who was himself trained by Frank.
- Only Sane Man: He seems to be the only person in the CIA aside from the Record Keeper who realises just how dangerous Frank and his team are.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He's a pretty nice guy, it just happens that his job routinely involves assassinating people.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: His response at the end of the first film.
- Unwitting Pawn: He becomes aware of it by the second act, though not who he's being a pawn for. He's not happy about it.
Alexander Dunning
- Played By: Richard Dreyfuss
- Big Bad: Of the first movie.
- Card-Carrying Villain: "You don't have people killed. I have people killed. I'm the bad guy, REMEMBER!?"
- The Man Behind the Man: At first Frank and the others think Dunning is taking orders from the VP, but it's the other way around.
Cynthia Wilkes
- Played By: Rebecca Pidgeon
- The Dragon: To Dunning in the first film.
Dr. Edward Bailey
- Played By: Anthony Hopkins
- Big Bad: Of the second movie.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: It turns out to be an act, though.
- Cynicism Catalyst: His wife and son were murdered.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He gets blown up by his own bomb at the end of the second movie.
- Obfuscating Insanity: It's all fake.
- Walking Spoiler: You can't really talk about the guy without spoiling a bunch of the film.
Han Cho Bai
- Played By: Byung-hun Lee
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He kicks major ass all while wearing a nice suit.
- Berserk Button: Stealing (and later blowing up) his plane is a sure way to piss him off.
- Butt-Monkey: Downplayed. While he did have a badass introduction, for the rest of the film not much seemed to go in his favour. His first attempt to track down Frank's location ended up having his personal plane stolen by his target. He failed on his first two attempts to kill Frank, while his third attempt led to an Enemy Mine with Frank to stop a bigger crisis. To top off the insult, Frank ended up blowing up his plane in order to kill the Big Bad, much to his chagrin.
- Combat Pragmatist: Instead of trying to confront Moses and kill him in a smooth and stealthy manner, he opts to take a van, strap a minigun to it and spray bullets at Frank's direction. It would have worked too but Marvin had a stick of dynamite in his pants.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Finds himself handcuffed to a freezer and surrounded by a bunch of heavily armed Russian policemen. Then proceeds to kick their asses in a matter of seconds.
- Enemy Mine: Frank convinces Han to help him stop Bailey halfway through the second movie.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Was a well-known South Korean military intelligence officer until he went for the criminal underworld.
- Gatling Good: Uses a minigun during a drive-by.
- Improbable Weapon User: Fashions a shiv out of a piece of paper using origami, then stabs a guy in the neck with it.
- Mr. Fanservice: For completely legitimate security purposes, he is stripped naked in his introductory scene.
- Professional Killer: Became one after leaving the Korean intelligence service, and was seen doing that in his introduction.
- Surrounded by Idiots: His original team when tracking Frank is easily outfoxed. Perhaps that's why they're never seen or heard from again after Han's Heel–Face Turn.
- Wicked Cultured: Has a taste for suits, wine and is so good at origami he can kill with it.
Jack Horton
- Played By: Neal McDonough
- Affably Evil: The guy is awfully polite to everyone, even when he's seconds away from shooting them in the face.
Supporting Characters
Sarah Ross
- Played By: Mary-Louise Parker
- Action Survivor: Despite being a civilian with a boring old bureaucracy clerk job, she takes being mixed up in the antics of retired superspies pretty well in stride.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Played With. She has no idea who Frank is or what he's really capable of when she first develops a crush on him, and is understandably annoyed and freaked out when he breaks into her house and kidnaps her. His badassery does impress her, and she's not at all fazed by the fact that he used to be a CIA assassin, however.
- Angrish: After Frank tapes her mouth shut while trying to get her to safety.
- Bound and Gagged: See above. She is understandably not impressed.
- Damsel in Distress: In the first half of the first film. By the second half, she's adjusted fast.
- Guilty Pleasures: Terrible romance novels.
- The Heart: Her main role in the first film, though her people skills and improvisation help smooth the way on more than one occasion (and avoid Frank's default to duct-tape).
- Jumped at the Call: Not immediately, but she finds hanging out with the heroes far more interesting than her day job.
- Love Interest: For Frank.
- A Match Made in Stockholm: With Frank. Granted, the kidnapping did save her life, and she was both annoyed and freaked out by it before it became clear that he wasn't crazy, and people really were out to get both of them, but she adjusts fast..
Ivan Simanov
- Played By: Brian Cox
- Chivalrous Pervert: Towards Victoria, leaning much more heavily on the chivalry.
- Foil: To Frank, whereas Frank is more akin to a retired Super-Soldier that conducted mostly violent clandestine operations for the CIA, Ivan is more akin to a sneaky spymaster and is seemingly still active for the Russian Intelligence.
- Foot Focus: In Red 2, he waxes lyrical about Victoria's stocking-ed feet while she does some sniping.
- Friendly Enemy: Implied to have had a somewhat friendly rivalry with Frank during the Cold War, as the first thing the two do after meeting is share a drink and reminisce about their exploits.
- Non-Action Guy: Ivan isn't really into the more physical and violent aspects of espionage, instead, he relies on his vast network of contacts, connections and his presumably high rank in the SVR RF. This makes him quite possibly even more dangerous than the others - and when it does come to violence, he casually strolls around, achieving what he wants with minimal effort by being in the right place at the right time (and occasionally applying the right bomb, in the right place, at the right time).
- Old Flame: Of Victoria's.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Now that the Cold War is over, he quickly drops his initial menacing air towards Frank and shares shots of vodka with him while reminiscing. That Victoria is his Old Flame implies that his allegiance to the Soviet Union was at least not the be-all-end-all of his motivations.
- Sensual Slavs: He is a soft spoken, suave Russian gentleman.
- Sixth Ranger: Provides Frank with information to break into the CIA, but doesn't actively move to help the group until they involve his Old Flame Victoria.
Robert Stanton
- Played By: Julian McMahon
Henry
- Played By: Ernest Borgnine
- Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": He's known as the "Records Keeper."
Gabriel Singer
- Played By: James Remar
Katya Petrokovich
- Played By: Catherine Zeta-Jones
- Old Flame: Of Frank's.
The Frog
- Played By: David Thewlis
- Flipping the Bird: Pulls this on Marvin and Sarah after they fail to catch him. Then he gets slammed by Frank and Katya's car.
