SINGAPORE — If you were one of the many who contributed to making Red the sleeper worldwide box office hit of 2010 by revelling in its starry A-list cast, then it’s safe to say you’ll be enjoying Red 2 too. Because the good ol’ gang (sans Morgan Freeman) is reunited in this spirited sequel.

The question is: Does it still feel so good?

The silver set that make up the RED crew (which stands for “Retired, Extremely Dangerous”) - retired CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), Marvin (John Malkovich) and ice-cold Victoria (Helen Mirren) - ham it up in high gear and appear to love every minute of it. Director Dean Parisot knows he has an award-winning cast on hand, and cleverly relies on their star-power, charm and chutzpah to carry the film through.

The sequel’s ace-in-the hole isn’t just the spot-on Malkovich and Mirren, but also cast newcomer Anthony Hopkins as an insanely barmy weapons scientist. Hopkins is used to perfection to show off some serious comedic chops.

Together with new additions - the sultry Soviet agent (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who also happens to be Frank’s ex, and the oenophile information dealer “The Frog” (David Thewlis) - they up the ante to laugh-out-loud level. The film has also cleverly sewn up the Asian box-office ticket by enlisting the help of South Korea’s Byung-hun Lee as the assassin determined to kill Frank.

Sure, this over-the-top spoof could be a little less gun-toting happy and blood-thirsty; and the comedic banter had its fair share of spotty blips and forced chuckles. The plot too loses some credibility as the action and chaos spirals out of control.

But let’s be honest here. This is not Shakespeare In The Park. And the fact that this cast (who probably cut their teeth doing Shakespeare In The Park) unreservedly throws their entire thespian selves into their roles is highly infectious. And that is more than enough for a fun night out at the movies.

(PG, 126 min)