RED, Lost in Adaptation ~ The Dom 

I'm pretty sure if a person still loves after you're forced to shoot them 3 times, and furthermore understands why you did it, then that person's a keeper.

Warren Ellis apparently said that he was okay with the changes because an accurate adaptation would be "44 minutes, if you included a musical number." And he seems to have agreed with your sentiment, "(I) Read the RED script. Not bad. Not the book, but not bad. Funny. Especially when you know the casting. Very tight piece of work. Talked to the producers last week. They're all kind of giddy over the casting coups. Who wouldn't want to see Helen Mirren with a sniper rifle?" I sure wish I could find the source of that first quote.

I enjoyed RED, and all three Expendables. Great movies? No. Fun movies? Yes.

As a german, I can say: No, we didn't have enough of The Dom trying to speak german.

John Wick almost sounds like a closer adaptation.

I love the movie, its style of humor is pretty good and I like how they distanced the plot from being anti-new generation and more just being a self contained thing about elderly secret agents. Comics have a way about being gritty and serious that comes across as edgy when translated to other mediums so I'm glad they didn't try to make it totally comic accurate, and added some levity. that said i'd love an american movie where the CIA are seriously the villain, because the CIA are literal villains so it'd be nice seeing how they deal with it (who am I kidding they'd never point out how corrupt the CIA are, cause then people might start actually looking into their history)

Putting it simply. Red the movie: Expendables Red the comic book: John Wick

Cohen the Barbarian the guy who was killed in battle only to punch out a Valkyrie and steal her winged mount. According to him the best things in life are "hot water, good dentishtry and shoft lavatory paper".

RU-vid recommend your video of how "50 shades of grey" is about an abusive relationship. Don't know why I decided to watch since I saw those type of reviews and read so much on the matter already. But I'm so happy that I did. I loved your approach and delivery so much that I went on your page to look for more of those type of reviews. But then I saw the potterarathon! I was so so happy. I just finished rereading the books as an adult so finding you was amazing. I binged watched most of your videos in a couple of days and now I want to ask for more reviews like the first one I saw. I find you highly intelligent and think your stands are so important to vocalize even more, especially as a man. I'm sorry if my english is not the greatest it's not my native language. Thank you so much for your content, I absolutely love your videos and going to watch the rest. much love.

While RED perfectly exemplifies your IN NAME ONLY CLAUSE, It was so much fun, I really did not mind. I think the change in tone was done for similar reasons as Star Ship Troopers, and to me at least, it really worked. Moses went after Cooper in his office for two reasons, he wanted to size him up, and have a little bit of fun.

Strangely enough, I didn't and still don't hate Willis as Moses. I think it's a fairly great choice, if a little cheeky, knowing his film background and age at the time...

Every time I hear Dom call us his "beautiful watchers", my heart gets a little lighter.

I have a personal fondness for this movie. Early in our marriage, my ex wife and I went to HMV to pick out a DVD which would be "our movie" (much like a couple might call a song "our song"). We wanted it to be something we both enjoyed, and which we could watch over and over again without getting sick of. We chose Red, and I maintain it was a good choice.

I honestly love the movie. It ain't perfect, but the characters are just so much fun to watch. The conspiracy never really made sense to me, but in the end I was never focusing on that at all. The actors really made it interesting for me--I really like watching Bruce Willis or John Malkovich whenever they're in the background; they're always doing something.

Fear the old man in a profession where men Die Young. Moses that's a good idea

Based on your summary of the Red comic ending, i think the writing was implying that the deputy was manipulating Moses so as to straight up get rid of the political appointee and step into his place.

I sorta knew RED was based on a comic, but I had no idea how loosely it was based. Sheesh; though as you said, an accurate adaptation wouldn't have worked well, either. Two more for the "In Name Only" section would be "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "The Hero and The Terror". Interestingly, the former suffered from the changes, but the latter was actually improved by them.

"Who would take this dark comic about a man turned into a monster with death upon death upon death and turn it into a fun movie romp?" One could also say the same about The Mask, which would make for a super interesting LiA episode btw, especially if you throw in the original original "The Masque" comic series.

Speaking of In Name Only, will you ever do The Giver?

You should do Ms Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children (I feel like it might almost be in name only)

Seeing as you've mentioned Terry Pratchett a few times in your videos I think you should do a video on the 'hogfather' miniseries. Or maybe the 'good omens' radio show?

I had no idea RED was a comic before the film. Having watched this makes me what to pick the comic up and read it. I still love the film, its one of the few action films that I enjoy. Thanks for reviewing this Dom, I'm going to be picking up the comic now.

Your analysis of the film around 6:00 is spot on. However - sometimes it's very relaxing to hang ones brain out to dry for one and a half hour or so... :D And yes - I feel the same about the Expendables and the host of those stupid asylum-monster flicks... sometimes you simply don't want to think too much :D

the best old versus new spy stories I've read so far were tom clancy's splinter cell conviction, Punnisher max, valley forge valley forge, and nick fury max by Garth Ennis. The old guards advantages were one part experience, and three parts they often had to improvise on the fly, and work with what ever jury rigged crap they had on hand, while the new generation was way to dependent on their technology and over coming obstetrical with brute force and off site real time intelligence.

When I saw this video in my recommended section I felt like I'd won the lottery. It's been so long since you uploaded a LIA episode about a movie that I'd seen. Still ,your acting skills are so phenomenal , I can enjoy all of the LIA series regardless of whether I can actually relate to you as a viewer.

Had to stop the video after hearing enough to get me interested in this movie. Don't want to spoil myself. I'll be back after I see it. Cheers.

I really like both versions, but it is a good thing I saw the movie first otherwise I would have been to resentful to enjoy the movie. And as long as we are talking about In Name Only, you should do The Wardstone Chronicles/Seventh Son. (book and film name respectively.)

It should also be noted that the generation described in the comic was different from the generation described in the movie. Well, not entirely, but the views definitely are different. Yes, in the comic, Paul is an old and bitter man and we're told the story of someone who sees himself through the lens of the Greatest Generation (The G.I. Generation) and contrasts it with the current one. That he knew to make sacrifices out of duty and that that is no longer the case for the current generation. In the movies, instead see the movie reflect the Silent Generation. People who do their jobs without question rather to becoming activists and who are, as a result, feeling relatively unfulfilled in their old age, despite having a wealth of experience and nobody to share it with. The message of the comic is "there will never be a GI Generation again" and the second is "there will never be a Silent Generation again".

Genuinely love this movie and its sequel, but every point you made is pretty accurate. It's probably because, as you pointed out, there is a somewhat Terry Pratchettish flavor to the whole thing. Did not know anything about the comic, though, so this was truly enlightening.

ahh I love lost in adaptation just before bed! love your videos ❤️

The Fact that we are lacking any sort of "Young" Action Hero is why those Movies still work. Showing aged Actors (trying) to kick ass like they used to while making the "old but not rusty" their gimmick. In the Future we wont have new Action Heroes, and we wont have any Nostalgia invoking Movies like these.

I enjoyed this movie, especially Karl Urban, and wished they would have made a sequel with him in the lead.

I watched half of this review and paused it about 30 seconds into the comic part of it, only to go and read the entire comic, and then come back and continue watching you.

Watching the comic summary: "Yep, this is definitely Ellis."

Seeing how this is one of my favorite movies, I'm not fussed that it was changed so much.

You my brain salivate! Both versions sound amazing when you describe them and the analysis was incredibly amusing. Now I really want to see the comic for myself! Thank you for helping me start the day with a smile!

The best way to watch this movie, for me at least, is to watch it once the whole way through, paying attention enough to know what's going on, then if ever watch it again, come into when they get to the arm's dealer's house with about 40 minutes left. Enjoy from there.

The Dom: I love your reviews a lot but I cannot agree with you on this. RED as a film has never once bored me and I remembered the reason for all this the whole time as well as able to laugh at almost every turn.

I had pretty much the exact same reaction to the film when I saw it in theaters. An hour and a half of "these people are old, but still shooting things, isn't that wacky?!"

Love your work The Dom.

Your videos always make me smile! 😊

Helen Mirran is firing an M2 in that scene. It’s a .50 cal machine gun. The M60 was a much smaller .30 cal (7.62mm) that has now been replaced by the M240 in most of the NATO countries that used to use the M60.

They did a myth busters episode on this! It was about the blowing a rocket up midair with a bullet thing.

I don't care what's the issue. I will always watch a video with a British narrator. I freaking love those accents

Red was still a good movie that me and my dad watched together :0

Hello the Dom I work at a library and came across a book called “The Thief Lord” by Cornelia Funke. I remembered long ago I saw a movie adaptation. It has a very interesting concept basically being a reverse Peter Pan. Not sure if you are interested but just a suggestion for a new episode.

I like RED for the same reasons I liked reading about Cohen The Barbarian, warriors who are old because they're just so experienced at not dying is great entertainment to me. I get your criticisms but I still love this film. EDIT: I wrote this halfway through the video. Should have guessed you'd bring up Cohen.

Speaking of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, besides the one he showed the books that have this idea are "Interesting Times"and "The Light Fantastic " to a lesser extent

Love every episode of Lost in Adaptation! I think I've watched all of them at least twice! Anyway...I'm definitely gonna get a copy of this comic...I think I'd like the story and the art looks amazing. I think I'd also get a copy of the other one you mentioned as well.

Another good one to do that is very enjoyable, and based on a true story, is Cheaper by the Dozen. It was originally a book written about a family in the 1930s which had a dozen children. It was later created into a movie in the 1960s and how its own sequel after words. A few decades later they rebooted the film with a modern day version with Steve Martin, however it has nothing to do with the book or its predecessor movies, and doesn't really work in its demographic because there was significance based on the true story that changed a lot of history. All the Steve Martin version, they made two of those, does have a few laughs here and there unless you know the real story or enjoy the original movies, it was also later on Rewritten as a play that took place in the 1930s, you would end up hating the Steve Martin version because it doesn't follow through with the characters or the stories. To some people it's rather insulting because it is based on real life people, very enjoyable book and very enjoyable movie series in the 1960's versions, some people still like the Steve Martin version but it grew old very quickly.

Considering your opinion about "Old people doing things they shouldn't" How does Terry Pratchett's novels about the old barbarians fair for you then? I'm curious since it's pretty much the same principle for RED, just with swords and loincloths. xD *Edit* And that's what I get for not watching until the end before posting.

This is the most analysis I've seen the film ever get.

"A tallent cast doing stuff", Best review effer.

I have to admid RED was one of those movies I judged solely on the cover and my interest ended there. It seemed to be more bearable than I imagined.

Your show cracks me up, great job!! :)) I keep wanting to suggest something for you to do, but your choices are always so good it feels pointless! That being said: THE POSTMAN. OMG, please.

I actually love this movie. It was so witty and enjoyable.

Hi, I've never been this early so I'm going to take this opportunity to say I love you and your content. Thanks for uploading

you know what they say: "fortune favors the old"

CULLY HAMNER???? I remember when I first watched this I wasn't too knowledgeable of big name artists in the comic book industry but all these years later it's so gratifying being able to understand the prestige behind of these artists reputations.

I don’t think you’re old, The Dom.

Wow..the comic sounds better. Especially bc it doesn't have a dull love subplot

11:08: And Paul Moses joins The Comedian in the "comic characters as the gunman on the grassy knoll" hall of fame.

Although an animated adaptation that is short enough to only tell the original story could be really cool to see.

I just watch this with the characters actually being the actors and just enjoy the idea of morgan freeman and bruce willis kicking ass together.

5:24 We are Anominous. We never forgive. We never forget.

Switching off my brain for long periods of time is my specialty!

Wow, I got a serious "John Wick" vibe from your description of the comic!

Dammit the Dom, I have to get to work.......they can wait.

You had me at "written by Warren Ellis".

This film looks so funny I have got to see it!

Dom, you should do the book thief!

I think the filmmakers just liked the very basic concept of retired spies that can still kick @$$ that this is the reason for the 'in name only' aspect of the film.

That line about keeping the old chatterbox locked in the vault gave me a good chuckle.

I found funny the old generation vs new generation discussion getting in favour of the old. Especially in the context of war and international politics. Because you know. It isn't like the old people in charge start wars that could have been avoided only to sent the young to the slaugther house while they stay at home making more bad choices.

He called me beautiful 🌝

I'd love to see you cover Watership Down! Do you have any plans to do it in the foreseeable future?

Yay! Dom for the first thing in the morning!

The comic sounds really good.

I think the in name only episodes are my favorite.

I agree with Dom's view on the movie, and that's the point of a popcorn flick. I don't know if it's a good thing that I can turn my brain off.

The "In Name Only" Adaptation of RED was due to one thing really. This was the fact that Movie Studio's have an aversion to making hard "R" movies that has only recently started to change with Deadpool showing that they could make a profit. An extremely dark and violent comic book was made into a sort of family friendly (ish) dark comedy to maximize profits. Like they have done with most of the "reboots" of nostalgic cult movies, like the recent (ish) Robocop and Total Recall reboots. This was also a trend in dumbing down movie franchises, in violence and sexual context, that had originally a higher age restriction in their sequels "to get a wider audience" can easily be seen in Conan The Destroyer and Robocop 3. One "in Name Only" adaptation that was, to me quite baffling and went the entirely opposite way than RED's adaption did was Wanted. Wanted was a violent dark comedy satire comic book series about a "what if the DC universe comics were real and the Villains won by altering reality to make the world forget that Heroes exist" They of course changed the names of all the characters in the comic books, but you can easily see who they are supposed to be. The main character of the comic is the son of the comic universes version of Deathstroke. The world in the comics was split between the most powerful villains (who were stand ins for DC's most famous villains). The funniest thing in the comic book that they implied heavily that Adam West WAS actually Batman and the fact that the TV show, the villains made people think was the truth, was made camp on purpose to fuck with him. The Movie however went with a violent assassin league and was done way too seriously. I would have loved them to do a full adaptation of the Comic as it was an extremely fun read, but it would have to be akin to Deadpool in it's film rating. I would also like to see The Dom do a "Lost in Adaptation" on Wanted.

The comic sounds pretty awesome, i should see if I can find it.

Wow. I've never read the comic so I didn't know how much they changed it. But I love this movie. It's so much fun. Shame the sequel was terrible

Yay! My first new video since I've subbed :)

I know this is 2 years late, but while the plot of the comic was being explained I could only think "You know, I think this is pretty similar to the first John Wick film. A separate film was a closer adaptation than the actual adaptation."

I did actually turn my brain off and think of Terry Pratchett the whole time. Never trust an old man in a young man's profession. As a roller-coaster R.E.D. is a lot of fun.

Red was a dumb trashy fun and I've enjoyed it, but you're right, the driving plot is super forgettable. But I liked it more than the Expendables, that movie took itself too seriously. And I liked how Helen Mirren later talked about RED and the fun she had while filming. But I do understand your frustration after hearing the plot of the comic.

the movie is defenitely a guilty pleasure xD

So much commentary coming from places like Hollywood about the old generation vs. the new generation. It started so simple over twenty years ago with characters like The Golden Girls who made older people seem like real people instead of just grandmas. Just because there's snow on the roof doesn't mean there's no fire in the hearth - right? Then RED ... and of course pretty obvious things like The Terminator Genysis where are lovely Arnold keeps saying "I'm old - not obsolete". I barely know or give a damn about new Hollywood stars anyway, LOL I kind of wish I a) was into graphic novels/comic books ... and b) that I wasn't legally blind so I COULD enjoy them. Great job with this review, Dom, although I have never watched the movies either.

And then RED 2 turned into basically a James Bond movie. Lol I do really enjoy the RED movie, and this made me want to read the comic. However, just from a preliminary look at this summery, I find it hard to really connect to Paul Moses. He goes on a rampage to get back at the people trying to kill him, killing those who seem innocent in the process, even though he doesn't care that he dies. I could go the anti-hero, unsympathetic badass route if it was all in the name of self-preservation, but he doesn't care, so he looks like a psychopath out for blood.

If you're more open now to doing graphic novels in addition to books then would you mind cracking a shot at Kingsman: the secret service?

I love it if The Dom would do Gone With The Wind.. That would be awesome, lol!

I don’t know why but just the mention of Guatemala cracks me up

That woman can save any movie.

Yeah I remember seeing the trailer and thinking "Helen Mirren in an action movie?!?" Not realising that we basically the whole joke and selling point with the entire movie. I think to say the movie is forgettable is an understatement, even after you summarised the plot I still don't remember it.

If you ever do The Mask as a Lost in Adaptational, you'll see a similar situation.

thank you! got to take a peak into that comic. I liked the film for light entertainement purposes :D

There actually is a better comparison: the movie "Hopscotch". In that movie (which is itself an adaptation), Walter Matthau plays a retired CIA agent who writes a nasty tell-all book. This doesn't sit well with his boss, and as a result he's forced to stay one step ahead. Both movies even have a scene where the bad guys are tricked into shooting up a house.

Maybe a loyal adaptation of this would make a good Episode of a short TV movie anthology series in the vein of Black Mirror. That way they wouldn't have to add anything superfluous in order to pad the runtime and TV is attracting better and better casts now.

Honestly I might watch this just because Karl Urban is in it 😂