In honor of the new Bruce Willis movie Red, which was released in theaters this past weekend, I recently went back to read the DC comic book series Red created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, from which the film was adapted.

Both the comic book and the movie center around Frank Moses (Willis’s character), a retired CIA agent who’s thrust back into the world of danger when he’s attacked by highly trained unknown assailants. The over-the-hill action-comedy film brought out the older generations to the theater in droves, thanks to the change in the story’s overall tone (from serious to light-hearted), as well as (in my opinion) the creation of Helen Mirren‘s character Victoria, another retiree whose sexy looks and stellar aim with a sniper rifle probably make her the most lethal of the bunch.

There were quite a few differences between the movie and the 3-issue miniseries, mostly in the addition of new characters — played by Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Brian Cox — as well as alternations to the Frank Moses character and his situation, along with plenty of deviations from the original story.

Here’s the Top 3 differences between the film and the comic book.

Apart from the much-covered spat between director Michael Bay and starlet Megan Fox, which ultimately led to her replacement with Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as the female lead, and star Shia LaBeouf promising things would be much better this time around, we haven’t heard too much about Transformers 3.

The Bay directed trilogy-capper now has itself an official title, and it will be interesting to see how fans react to it. The movie will now be called Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, which ties to a trio of upcoming Transformer novels with similar titles, Transformers: The Dark of the Moon – Secret of the Autobots, Transformers: The Dark of the Moon – Autobots Betrayed!, and Transformers: The Dark of the Moon: Invasion of the Decepticons.

Being familiar with the Warren Ellis original property, I was curious going into the panel for Summit Entertainment’s Red to see how far the tone of the film was going to change from the dark, violent graphic novel to the lighter blackly comic adaptation.

Moderator Eric Mora, Editor in chief of IGN Movies, introduced original Red comic creator Warren Ellis, artist Cully Hammer, producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, and actors Karl Urban, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, and Bruce Willis to the panel.

Bruce Willis praised the work of his co-stars, Mirren noted that with her and Morgan Freeman that they had both “the Queen and God” in the film, as she sported a Harvey Pekar memorial sweater. Warren Ellis noted that his motivation for allowing his property to be adapted was “lots of money… I could buy most of you now.” He wanted the producers to roll with the film in whatever direction they wanted.

The first trailer for the DC Comics adaptation RED has been released online. The movie is an adaptation of the three-issue comic mini-series by the great Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner.

The first thing that will catch your eye is the great cast. Starring in the movie is Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Academy Award®-winners Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ernest Borgnine, John Malkovich, Karl Urban (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings), Brian Cox (Super Troopers, Troy), Julian McMahon (Fantastic Four, Nip/Tuck), James Remar (Dexter, Battlestar Galactica) and Rebecca Pidgeon (The Unit, The Shield).

Make your way on over to the other side to read a synopsis and check out the first trailer for RED!

Jonah Hex– *
Directed by Jimmy Hayward
Starring Josh Brolin, Megan Fox, John Malkovich
Release date: June 18, 2010

The bloodlust gains infinitely as the comic book adaptation of Jonah Hex expands to its inevitable conclusion. Moral values, social codes, or respect are all tossed out the window because director Jimmy Hayward doesn’t think it necessary to shed light on things that aren’t so aggressive. Violent films work when morality and humanity are at stake and when they are emphasized and demonstrated thoroughly (see No Country for Old Men and The Proposition). In Jonah Hex all of that is obsolete, making it a picture obsessed with intolerable cruelty, single mindedness, and unfathomable new-aged weaponry. Western films made their living on respectable themes and characters that showcased value and more than a one-track mind. This neo-neo western shows extreme contempt for all of that, making the splendor of the western even more distant from the public as it already is. Younger folk have a better opportunity of beholding the exhilaration and immersing themselves deeply into the atmosphere of the Wild West when they turn on their video game consoles and insert Red Dead Redemption.

Director Hayward, whose body of work only contains the animated Horton Hears a Who, makes the first botch as he puts his film in considerable jeopardy when he tries to encompass and explain the life of Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) in a rushed manner that is displayed in comic-book animation. But this is ill-conceived as far as plot is concerned. If this quick montage would have been shown in its fullness the entire film would have been strengthened because it shows us Hex as a man content with his life, his experiences with Indians (is this why he can talk to the dead?), and then as a man who has become derailed. The entire film is devoted to Hex, who is in a one-dimensional mode the entire time.