Produced by Di Bonaventura Pictures and distributed by Summit Entertainment, it is the first film in the Red series.

Directed by Robert Schwentke and written by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, it stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban, and Mary-Louise Parker, alongside Rebecca Pidgeon, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, and James Remar.

Red follows Frank Moses (Willis), a former black-ops agent who reunites with his old team to capture an assassin who has vowed to kill him.

[5] Former CIA black ops agent Frank Moses lives a quiet life in the suburbs, and frequently tears up his pension checks in order to talk to call center employee Sarah Ross, with whom he has fallen in love over the phone.

Meanwhile, young CIA agent William Cooper is tasked by his supervisor Cynthia Wilkes to kill Frank.

In New Orleans, Frank ties up Sarah in a motel room while he visits his former mentor Joe at a retirement home for help identifying the squad.

The three track down pilot Gabriel Singer, who flew the mission, but he is killed by a sniper before he can give any valuable information.

Finding the Guatemala file Frank left for him at his house, Cooper realizes that he is being used in the coverup and has himself assigned to Stanton's security detail.

[6] In June 2008, Summit Entertainment announced plans to adapt Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner's Red.

By April 2009, Bruce Willis was reportedly in discussions with Summit to take the starring role of Frank Moses.

[9] Also in July 2009, Robert Schwentke, the director of The Time Traveler's Wife and Flightplan, was in negotiations to direct Red.

"[11] In November 2009, Helen Mirren was reported to be engaged to work alongside Freeman and Willis in the film.

Parker would play the romantic interest, a federal pension worker who becomes embroiled in the Willis character's struggle to stay alive.

[13] In the same month, Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss, and Brian Cox entered negotiations to join the cast.

In December 2009, creator Warren Ellis stated on his mailing list: "Read the RED script.

[16] The same month, James Remar was cast in an unspecified role,[17] in addition to Karl Urban as "Cooper".

The site's critics consensus reads, "It may not be the killer thrill ride you'd expect from an action movie with a cast of this caliber, but Red still thoroughly outshines most of its big-budget counterparts with its wit and style.

[30] Justin Chang of Variety stated Red is "An amusing, light-footed caper about a team of aging CIA veterans rudely forced out of retirement".

[31] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter stated "Although tailor-made for genre fans, it benefits from flavors of humor and romance that keep its appeal from being fanboy-only".

[37][38] In October 2011, Summit Entertainment officially announced that Red 2 would be released on August 2, 2013, with Jon and Erich Hoeber rehired to write the screenplay.