MusicChat
It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.
John austin
Putting up a defense of the original 1983 Red Dawn may embroil you in controversy, but defending the remake might make people think you just took a sharp blow to the head. In an era of remakes and sequels and remakes of sequels, The new Red Dawn just shows Hollywood's creative gas tank close to empty. It's just another a big, soulless military shoot-em-up adventure that will be forgotten by most everyone as soon as the end credits role. I can't believe how much I missed Patrick Swayze after seeing this.If you had a problem with the premise of the first one, it's best not to get involved in this. You could make a case in the Cold War days of the early '80s for a Soviet invasion of America. People did talk about that in those days, and the government planned for that contingency (sorry folks, they did do that). But you really can't say that in 2012 about the Chinese or the North Koreans , or whoever these guys are supposed to be. The Chinese have never shown an ability or desire to project power outside of their own sphere, and the North Koreans barely have enough gas to drive to Seoul, let alone invade the US mainland. It's just not on the political radar, and for that reason alone, this just doesn't make sense.
flecktarnworldwide
Wow! This was bad on so many levels. Blatant anti North Korea propaganda (not that I am a fan of North Korea.) How can film makers get away with that. It's technically slander. Definitely pushing stereotypes.Secondly, Chris Hemsworth. Channelling Sylvester Stallone's manner of talking in Rambo. Ugh! Thirdly. Teenagers save the world theme AGAIN. I am utterly over that now.Fourthly. Story. Utterly ridiculous. These "North Koreans" are wearing China PLA Army uniforms. How about a bit of research. So that's me "out" right there. Insulting our intelligence.SUMMARY. A Gen Y movie made by Gen Y for Gen Y morons. We don't need adults. We're Gen Y. We can do ANYTHING! "Wolverine!"Pathetic.
Screen_Blitz
Directed by Dan Bradley, Red Dawn is a remake of a 1980s war flick about a group of Colorado teenagers who hide up into the woods and form a guerrilla army to defend their town when it gets invaded by the Cuban and Soviet army. This time around, the main villains are the North Koreans. Set in Spokane, Washington, Chris Hemsworth plays Jeb, a U.S marine who returns home from active duty to watch his high school brother Matt (played by Josh Peck) play football. Matt is a nice guy who is dating a smoking hot cheerleader named Erica (played by Isabel Lucas). After facing a disappointing loss, Jeb and Matt meet up at a local restaurant with some old friends including Jeb's crush Toni (played by Adrianne Palicki), Robert (played by Josh Hutcherson), Daryl (played by Connor Cruise), and Danny (played by Edwin Hodge). Next morning, Jeb and Matt wake up to find their neighborhood being occupied by North Korean soldiers with thousand of paratroopers descending from the sky. Surrounded by neighbors being abducted by Korean troopers, the two brothers hop into their truck, along with their friends, and escape into a cabin deep into the woods where they meet a few other survivors including Greg (played by Julian Alcaratz), Julie (played by Alyssa Diaz), and eventually Lieutenant Colonol Andrew Tanner (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Upon discovering their own to be overrun the North Korean army, the team form their own army and begin waging guerrilla warfare against the North Koreans in attempt to save their town from invasion.I really enjoyed the 1984 original with Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Brad Savage, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey. It was fun to watch and express a clever, if unrealistic, idea. This movie tries to reprint the same idea of the original film, but fails execute effectively. With its appealing cast of teen stars, this movie expresses an interesting idea, but butchers it with poor writing, lack of character development, and combat action scenes that are sadly not too exciting to watch. When the North Korean army first appears, viewers get filled with excitement and suspense to the point where the characters make their escape from all the mayhem. From there on out after this scene, the movie immediately stops becoming interesting. Nearly every character feels one-dimensional, and none of them are even memorable. Chris Hemsworth's character Jeb who is the main character isn't even very likable. In the original movie, Jeb, played by Patrick Swayze, was a tough, but loving older brother who just wanted to look after his little brother and his friends. Here, he's kind of a jerk, especially towards his brother. Then there are the active combat scenes which are rather boring and lack any sort of emotional investment. With the exceptions a few explosions, most of these scenes are not very exciting. Lastly, the film ending is way too abrupt as it ends in a way that will make viewers say "What?, that's it?". This is very disappointing, especially when the film only runs of 93 minutes, unlike the original film which lasted for almost two hours.Whether this film is a remake or something original, it is still quite a letdown. This movie had so much potential with its compelling idea and stellar cast, and it only manages to waste it on a poorly written script. This is quite disappointing, especially due since this film spent three years trying to be released.
