What I See and What I Think: The Joy and Sadness of Retired CIA Agents

People will age and will retire after getting old. How to arrange for a fulfilling and relaxing retirement is a consequence of reality as well as wisdom, especially in modern society where late marriages have created a population gap between young kids and an aging population. Basically, birth, aging, illness and death are a human being’s four sufferings, especially for pretty ladies and generals. Recently, the American movie “RED” arouses our interest in putting this reality into a fun story.

The original name of the movie is “RED.” It has nothing related to the color red. It is the acronym of ‘Retired Extremely Dangerous.’ The movie is about a few retired CIA agents who are bored after retirement but are accidentally involved in a conspiracy to commit murder. As a result, they are forced to become spies again. It is an entertaining action film and has various famous actors cast in the lead roles. However, what most people may not notice is that, behind the laughter and humor, it is actually mocking the real world.

There are two parts to the fun in this movie. For the audience, the movie has famous actors including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren, who all act as the retired CIA agents. Moreover there are two Best Actor Oscar winners, namely Ernest Borgnine, who plays the role of the top CIA secret-filing clerk, and Richard Dreyfuss, who rounds out the cast as the villain. The various retired CIA agents in the movie are no longer in fit physical condition or are as young and attractive as they used to be; indeed, they are always laughing stocks in the movie. However, using their experience, they manage to fight and repel the young CIA agents, unraveling their glamour.

The movie actually reveals the confidence and optimism in Americanism (or egoism). “RED” mentions the underground movement of the various retired CIA agents in Asia and Latin America. Bruce Willis used to be a secret killer who played a part in the upheaval of other nations. Helen Mirren is an elegant professional assassin. Morgan Freeman always smilingly says “miss the good old time.” Richard Dreyfuss, though the villain, is also ex-CIA. In the movie, he is also the person who can manipulate U.S. politics and CIA personnel policy. Ultimately, terrorist operations and interventions in the internal policy of other nations are presented as heroism. In the past, American movies always portrayed CIA agents as intelligent and invincible, and, occasionally, they portrayed CIA internal scandals as self-criticism. It is rare to have a movie like “RED” that beautifies the secret organization and “cartoonizes” it. Is it a reflection of missing the good old days in light of America’s diminishing influence today?

In the real world, many glorious scholars and generals can never forget the good old days. Despite mentioning retirement, they always reemerge due to loneliness, hoping to create a new world at their golden retirement age; it is no wonder that retired singers always return to the stage in a timely manner. However, a movie is movie. In reality, no matter how much willpower you have, once people retire, they will become extremely dangerous — yet it is better than being extremely annoying.