After the 9/11 attack many Americans felt that their sense of security and safety were being threatened. Homeland Security was formed, increased security checkpoints at airports were enforced, and our borders became more tightly watched. We felt as if nothing could penetrate our borders from now and forever.
Even though I am not a big fan of re-makes because they either honor the original source material or not.
This 2012 edition of Red Dawn does honor its 1984 predecessor and sends a chilling reminder of the possibility of an American Invasion against another well matched army. If an opposing army is quite executed and well planned you never know and quite frankly we don't want to know.
In Red Dawn the threat to our borders this time is not the English, the Russians, or the Chinese, but the North Koreans and features a similar group of teenagers forming their own army to defend and protect their land.
I thought this movie was well stocked with a wonderful cast of vulnerable but yet strong group of young actors who stand and deliver.
When the going gets tough these Wolverines come hauling ass offering a wonderful mix of firefights and explosions. The film timing is well paced to match that of the 1984 film.
Can anyone say GO BLUE!
Sorry just a little college humor :)
Now set in Spokane, Washington we return back to the lives of several high school classmates and a American solider who has just returned home from his tour of duty overseas.
When the U.S. has been compromised by the North Koreans many small towns have been occupied and its citizens imprisoned, shot, or set to work as slaves under the new North Korean regime.
When the two brothers see the impending doom that awaits them they take refuge in a nearby family cabin up in the hills.
Accompanying them along the way are Matt's high school friends and Jed's friends Robert, Toni, and Erica. Jed. the elder and brother and returning solider from Iraq, takes up leadership training them all in the styles of soldering and combat tactics. One at a time they deploy on several missions along the way against the North Korean forces and call themselves the Wolverines after their high school alma matter. Victory is soon in their grasp when a veteran marine colonel joins their ranks .
The movie started quite chilling using real life news footage that builds up the story that leads up
to our conflict with one of U.S's common enemies the North Koreans.
It was at that point that it feels given their size, strength, and leadership this kind of madness could quite happiness and was presented quite well in this opening filmmaking montage.
I'm sure the Filmmakers were quite on edge with this one that with any slight misrepresentation with a common enemy would have sparked more worldwide tension between the two countries as it is. Either way it was a good choice for the film's main villain.
I like how the screenplay gives them all a personal vengeance factor for each one is fighting their own personal war against those that killed their loved ones.
I like how each rescue mission is executed with a Great Escape type style as the group builds up confidence with each mission, learning to work as a team, as they one by one dwindle their enemies numbers down to nothing.
Like their 1984 counterparts we are introduced to a fresh young cast of stars in Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Josh Peck, and Isabel Lucas and even the women get top billing in many of the scenes
climatic battles. After all in the event of a real emergency everyone would stand up against a common enemy
both men and women.
This film doesn't treat the North Koreans as evil but more of soldiers in a foreign land. It was like watching
a real life board game of Risk as the two sides pit their strength in numbers in modern day warfare. I felt reminded several times through this film that once upon a time in American History we too grouped together in large numbers to fight off a common enemy and reclaim this land as our land for the dream of a free nation. When it comes down to the wire and your freedoms are being threatened you will fight for them.
FINAL RATING: 5/5
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