I make it a point to be open minded about movies... but that wasn't always the case. I use to despise the idea of my favorite classics getting the reboot. I've dropped that way of thinking after being completely won over by a couple of remakes throughout the last few years... and honestly, who gives a shit.. even if the remake sucks, you still have the original to keep you warm at night.
(1984) [Trailer]
Director: John Milius [IMDB]
Synopsis: Russia and Cuba invade the US and a group of small town high schoolers fight back.
This movie was a big big favorite of mine as a kid and during the Cold War I was obsessed with the thought about being taken out by a nuclear bomb or even worse... an invasion. Red Dawn played on those fears so perfectly and there wasn't a child after watching this movie who couldn't imagine that scenario happening to them.
I was surprised how much I still enjoyed Red Dawn. It wastes zero time getting into the shit. Within 10 minutes the Russian have taken over and the boys are on the run. Patrick Swayze (RIP) is totally believable in his roll as the older brother who has to keep his act together and unify the group. There are a lot of emotional scenes that could have gone south quickly, but were actually very solid (the one with Harry Dean Stanton and the boys was the best.) I also didn't remember how great the scenery and cinematography were... it's an extremely good looking film (especially on blu-ray.) Red Dawn's pacing and some of the performances were spotty at times, but overall I really enjoyed my rewatch of this 80's classic.
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: Dan Bradley [IMDB]
Synopsis: Same shit as the first one only replace the Russians with the North Koreans.
You really have to suspend disbelief in order to get into the movie. Knowing the current state of things in North Korea, the fact that they could come over and invade the US is pretty absurd... but whatever. The remake treads on pretty similar grounds as it's predecessor, only something felt off. The original had an overly dark ending where mostly everyone dies, which I thought was awesome and gave way to more ups and downs. This take; however, steers the film into different territory, there's one shocking scene, but other than that it's pretty predictable.
There's one part in this film that was absolutely unreal. I guess this could be considered spoilerville... but not really... so read on. There is a kid in the group who after being taken captive rats out the group. Later in, maybe after a week or so you see this same kid is now decked out as a solider for the Koreans. You're telling me in a matter of a month, this guy felt it necessary to betray his friends and country? Not only that, but the Koreans would trust him enough to make him a commander? Please. It's bad enough I have to pretend the North Koreans could invade us, but that shit is just wacky.
All and all, it wasn't a horrible film, but it wasn't good either.
THE VERDICT: Ultimately the original is vastly superior and wins the battle. The concept behind these films is kind of unrealistic, but at least during the height of the Cold World you could actually believe the Russians could have pulled something like this off....but... the North Koreans? Nope.
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