Red Dawn (2012) Review

Rated PG-13 (Sequences of Intense War Violence and Action, and for Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 33 Minutes

Cast-

Chris Hemsworth-Jed Eckert

Josh Peck-Matt Eckert

Adrianne Palicki-Toni Mason

Josh Hutcherson-Robert Morris

Connor Cruise-Daryl Jenkins

Isabel Lucas-Erica Mason

Edwin Hodge-Danny Bates

Alyssa Diaz-Julie

Jeffrey Dean Morgan-Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Tanner

Brett Cullen-Tom Eckert

Will Yun Lee-Captain Lo

Matt Gerald-Hodges

Kenneth Choi-Smith

Directed by Dan Bradley

The fate of the United States rests in these kids' hands. Yea, I wouldn't even trust them with my mail.

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a nationwide televised address to the American public and announced that ‘it shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.’ The next day, U.S. naval ships set up a blockade (dubbed a quarantine by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral George Whelan Anderson Jr. since a blockade is considered to be an act of war according to international law) some 800 miles from the coast of Cuba, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis. Both the United States and the Soviet Union showed no signs of budging until October 28, when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev publicly agreed to dismantle all offensive weapons from Cuba while Kennedy promised that he would never again invade the country. The United States also secretly agreed to dismantle all intermediate range ballistic missiles deployed in Italy and Turkey. The so-called Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union defined the 20th century, with the two superpowers a hairs-breadth away from starting a nuclear conflict that could devastate the world. Disaster was thankfully averted in the last minute but in the world of Hollywood film, the Soviet Union launched a massive invasion upon the United States until they were repelled by a group of teenage guerilla fighters. Such a premise was explored in director John Milius’ “Red Dawn” starring Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, and Jennifer Grey. Released on August 10, 1984, the film went on to become a box office success with a domestic gross of $38 million ($84 million adjusted for inflation) but received mixed reviews from critics with a current score of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

During the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, MGM announced that a remake of “Red Dawn” was in the early stages of pre-production. With the collapse of communism in 1991, the only remaining nation that could challenge the United States on the global arena was China. The idea of having these two nations engage in an all-out war has been explored in other media such as video games, particularly the “Fallout” series but while such an event is plausible, it would be impractical for China to invade the United States. The two countries are too interdependent on each other to risk ruining their diplomatic relationship by resorting to war. The “Red Dawn” remake finished filming in 2009 under the helm of Dan Bradley but the film’s release was delayed indefinitely due to MGM’s financial troubles. Not helping matters was the controversial depiction of a United States being invaded by China. To maintain access to China’s lucrative box office, the villains were altered from Chinese to North Korean in post-production in March 2011. After being shelved for nearly two years, “Red Dawn” will finally be released on November 2, 2012 by FilmDistrict and Open Road Films. I managed to obtain tickets to an advanced screening six months ahead of its official release. While the film features plenty of loud explosions and shootouts, “Red Dawn” squanders much of its potential with its ridiculously cheesy gung-ho attitude, clichéd characters, and sanitized violence in order to appeal to a mass audience. 

With the United States caught in the grip of an economical crisis and mired in a number of conflicts around the world, the small communist nation of North Korea seizes the opportunity to build up its military forces. Meanwhile, the residents from the small town of Spokane, Washington are enjoying the local high school football game but the team’s star quarterback Matt Eckert (Josh Peck) fails to turn the tide. His father Tom (Brett Cullen), the town sheriff, brushes off the loss and praises his son for trying his best to win. Matt’s older brother Jed (Chris Hemsworth) comes home after his tour of duty in Iraq but the two have a tense relationship since their mother passed away. A blackout suddenly occurs and Tom is forced to spend the night keeping the peace, leaving his sons at home. Matt and Jed wake up the next morning to the sound of distant explosions and discover paratroopers landing throughout their hometown. Jed takes charge, taking as many of Matt’s friends with him and slipping away to the family cabin but his father ends up being captured by the invaders, who are revealed to be North Koreans led by Captain Lo (Will Yun Lee). The group gathers what supplies and weapons they can but Lo manages to find the cabin and holds Jed and Matt’s father at gunpoint to force them to surrender. Tom yells for his sons to fight back and is promptly shot in the head. Jed forms a ragtag group of teenage freedom fighters that includes his brother, Toni Mason (Adrianne Palicki), Robert Morris (Josh Hutcherson), and Daryl Jenkins (Conner Cruise). Dubbed the Wolverines (after their high school football team), they are trained in guerilla warfare tactics and begin harassing the North Korean forces occupying their hometown. However, Matt disobeys Jed by going off to save his girlfriend Erica Mason (Isabel Lucas), putting the rest of the group at risk. 

Before I begin, I just want to mention that I have not seen the original “Red Dawn” so I cannot comment on the similarities and differences the two may have. The idea of North Korea invading the United States is nothing new and was explored in the video game “Homefront” developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. Ironically, John Milius served as writer for the story. Unfortunately, the game ended up devolving into a “Call of Duty” clone and faced middling reviews for squandering much of its potential with a four hour single-player campaign. “Red Dawn” faces a similar flaw and makes for a hollow viewing experience. Some may dub the film as a form of propaganda but it’s too dumb to function as a brainwashing tool. Given the fact that North Korea cannot even successfully launch a missile or feed its people, I find it hard to believe that such a small nation would have the manpower or technology necessary to engage in a full-scale invasion. It is later revealed that they had help from another country but it’s little more than an afterthought in the film. As a Chinese American, I admit that seeing China portrayed in an antagonistic light would’ve been somewhat uncomfortable but it does sound more plausible given the fact that they are a nuclear power like the United States. China has had a habit of casting foreigners in a bad light as well so this situation is nothing new for me. I also find it highly implausible that a ragtag group of teenagers suddenly became proficient in weapon use and guerilla tactics after a training montage that lasts roughly five minutes. The film is simplistic to a fault and makes no effort to really develop its villains beyond the fact that they are invading our country. This issue extends to the supporting cast as well as none of the characters are given any sense of depth with the exception of Hemsworth and Peck, making it hard to care about what they are going through. The story loses the opportunity to explore the moral grey area that separates terrorist from freedom fighter, with the Wolverines being branded by the former. The conflict between the two brothers is as clichéd as they come with one unable to put aside his emotions for the good of the team. One thing that “Red Dawn” does well is with the war scenes but Bradley’s camerawork is sometimes too schizophrenic and the PG-13 violence robs much of the impact due to the need to appeal to a wide audience. The film tries hard to be like “Black Hawk Down” but never rises above the level of “Battle: Los Angeles.” The gung-ho attitude proves to be cheesy as well, with characters shouting ‘WOLVERINES!’ like they’re at a school rally. “Red Dawn” is an old-school patriotic film and there’s nothing wrong with that but the whole experience feels detached, making it a lost opportunity to do something genuinely unique. 

Chris Hemsworth has been on a roll this year with “The Avengers,” “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” and now “Red Dawn.” Granted, the last two were completed back in 2009 but to have them all be released now is a brilliant use of timing. Hemsworth delivers a generally good performance, his chiseled good looks and sincere conviction makes him one of the few bright spots in the film. Josh Peck is a mixed bag and lacks the acting chops to handle the more dramatic scenes. The rest of the supporting cast includes the likes of Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, Connor Cruise, and Isabel Lucas but their characters are too underdeveloped to leave much of impression despite sharing a good rapport with each other. Jeffrey Dean Morgan also pops up a marine who helps out during the climactic assault but it feels like he’s just picking up another paycheck given the screen-time he has. 

“Red Dawn” will be released into theaters on November 2, 2012 but yours truly managed to snag free tickets to a super advanced screening. The audience enjoyed the film and even applauded but honestly, standards have never been exactly high. While not a deal-breaker, an elderly woman also had to provide a running commentary on everything that was happening! I imagine the critics won’t be too impressed with the remake either seeing as how the original received a mixed reception. “Red Dawn” offers up plenty of explosive action but the film squanders its opportunity to create something truly unique about the post-9/11 world for jingoist cheese, which is real damn shame.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

“For them, this is just some place…but for us, this is our home!”