I was, I admit, somewhat concerned about Red. Another movie about spies getting back into the game, except this time it's about Olds, instead of about Marrieds? And yet, the trailer suggests otherwise:
However thinly sketched, these characters at least to appear to have distinct, and not typologically derived, personalities, and the sad state of the industry as a whole makes that simple fact feel like a miracle. Helen Mirren's Martha Stewart assassin reminds me delightfully of Emily Pollifax (about whom it's tragic there hasn't been a good, updated movie adaptation), particularly the bit where she chops a guy in the neck with a book she's carrying like a very chic librarian. Morgan Freeman may seem like a semi-dirty old man in a nursing home, but his relaxed, happy "We're getting the band back together!" makes it seem like he's just a dude with a lust for life. John Malkovich, not shockingly, is playing crazy, but the nod to Project MKULTRA is nice. Bruce Willis and Mary Louise Parker look the most like stock characters, but I trust them both as actors, and if they're part of a good ensemble cast, it shouldn't be a problem.
The point of all of this, though, is it's not insanely hard to create characters who are distinct and original, if not for the ages. There are so many interesting juxtapositions to come up with, contradictions to imagine. One doesn't have to go the whole Operation Mincemeat route, of course: most movies don't have to hold up to Nazi scrutiny with the invasion of Europe on the line. But how much more interesting must it be to wander through characters' heads without knowing precisely where you'll end up, than to pick a type from a file cabinet and get out your colored pencils? I don't know why anyone would want to do the latter (other than, of course, money and the promise of steady work). But it'd be great fun, if you had the leeway, to do the former.