A remake of the 1984 film of the same name, which featured a Soviet Union-led invasion of America, Red Dawn is a film about high schoolers and military veterans banding together to defeat an invading North Korean army in Spokane, Washington state, northwestern US.
Jed (Chris Hemsworth), an American military veteran of the Iraq war, comes back to his hometown and within just a few minutes of the film starting, North Korean paratroopers swoop in to take over Spokane. Anyong America!
With his younger brother Matt (Josh Peck) and his high school friends, the group decide to fight back by attacking military checkpoints setup by the invaders and attempt to save fellow Americans. They get betrayed by one of their own and lose other group members in the process, all the while befriending US Marines who provide much needed help.
The film was made over two years ago with actors who, at the time, were relatively unknown. However, now that Hemsworth (Thor; The Avengers), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Resident; Peace, Love & Misunderstanding) and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games; The Kids are All Right) are known commodities, the film’s claim as a showcase for the next generation of A-listers has been ruined.
The original film had amazing action and helped launch the careers of Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, and Jennifer Grey. They also had a much more believable enemy in the invading Russian army, smack in the middle of real world Cold War tension.
This new version fell short on action, relying on choppy sequences that substitute for choreography. But the biggest flaw was it’s use of North Korea as the invading force.
Audiences believe that James Bond can fight on top of a train, Tony Stark can build an arc reactor to become Ironman, and that Bella chose the vampire instead of the werewolf.
But backwards North Korea invading the US? With high schoolers as their only chance at survival? Give us a break.
2 stars.
Approx. 114 mins
Director:
Dan Bradley
Starring:
Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Jeffrey Dean Morgan