Red Dawn: The True War in This Film Was between Dull Cliché and Cool Action with a Slight Edge to Cool Action

Red Dawn, the remake of the 80s film, follows a somewhat unbelievable premise – the invasion of the United States by North Korean forces (originally a Chinese invasion, it is rumored that Producers got cold feet at the last minute.)  While it is not nearly as strong as the original and bogged down by cheesy and almost absurd dialogue, the film is an action-packed adventure that taps into viewer patriotism to keep the thrills pumping for the full length of the film.

Premise: North Korea invades the US.  A motley crew of American teens fight back. Result: Surprisingly interesting and engaging throughout, once you get past the rehashed plot and awful dialogue.

Focusing on Spokane (and Seattle), Washington as the center of the Northwestern invasion, the film tracks a group of young men and women as they attempt to escape and survive overwhelming forces.  Directed by Dan Bradley, Red Dawn follows the ragged Eckert family – father and Sheriff Tom (Brett Cullen), Marine and eldest son Jed (Chris Hemsworth) and football star/authority enemy and youngest son Matt (Josh Peck)- as they are initially overcome.

The film opens with a football game that is ultimately, and crudely, meant to foreshadow Matt’s recalcitrance and inherent defiance of authority.  Additionally, it alludes to some rift between brothers that goes unspoken, highlights Jed’s duty as a Marine and the possible romance between Toni (Adrianne Palicki) and Jed via the high-brow cinematic technique of “googly-eyes”.  There is nothing here that even remotely approximates fresh or new but the consolation prize is a trip to the concession stand won’t leave anyone confused.

Fortunately, it is not long before the true action film begins, with the invasion. It is a highly exhilarating sequence of events that begin with a black out, shockwave and all out paratrooper á la WWII. While on the surface the premise is outlandish, the film does a fair job of managing audience suspension of disbelief.  Apparently, there is some weapon that can wipe out communications and has crippled US defenses coupled with “help” the North Koreans received from other US foes.  In any event, while the concept may be suspect, it is advisable to just take the plot in stride and watch the thrilling action.

In their escape, The Eckert’s pick up a few stragglers including Toni, Rob (Josh Hutcherson), Daryl (Connor Cruise), Danny (Edwin Hodge), Julie (Alyssa Diaz),  and Greg (Julian Alcaraz) to round out the motley crew of minute persons.  Missing, of course, is Erica (Isabel Lucas), Matt’s love interest, and so a rescue insta-plot is born.

There are a few villains in the mix as well that serve to demonstrate the betrayal/Stockholm Syndrome phenomenon, but other than that, the group is largely persuaded to follow Jed’s leadership based on some clichéd rhetoric that in reality, may have failed at rallying rodents or small dogs.  But nonetheless this film is about action and action is does well.

The ragtag bunch begins training and, with the help of rebels in town, mounst a strong series of attacks on the North Koreans guerrilla style that infuriates district leader Captain Cho (Will Yun Lee).  On one level, Bradley does a great job with pacing and uses just enough story mixed with action and attack to rouse audience sentiments and engage even the most skeptical among us.

Ultimately, he effectively appeals to a jingoistic gene found in all Americans that is born with the Pledge of Allegiance in grade schools or after citizenship exams.  It is impossible to turn away or hide the outrage that surfaces as observers watch “our soil under attack” and this blood rage ultimately allows us to overlook the cheap dialogue and hackneyed premise. At one point it became so absurd I wondered if subliminal messages were hidden in the celluloid.

The rest of the film is the tale of sexy action sequences, seen-it-before personal struggles, and even a hope-against-hope twist that involves Marines from “Free America” coming to lend a hand in the form of Tanner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Smith (Kenneth Choi), and Hodges (Matt Gerald).Fortunately the film’s resolution actually had some small but surprising twists that brought about a momentary respite from the glut of explosions and patriotic blood rage and actually required thought.

Overall, the performances in this film were passable.  Hemsworth does an admirable job of navigating his trite dialogue although there was never a point where one might prefer to listen to him than watch him shoot things.  Peck, on his end, navigates his emotions fairly well but for some reason has chosen to add “raspy voice” and a faux-James-Dean “cool guy” squint that is off putting (for a better performance from Peck, watch ATM).

Palicki and has a few good moments of her own and pulls off strong woman with little effort while Lucas manages to play caring girlfriend without making observers vomit.  Hutcherson is strong in the film, somehow using his talents to evade the pitfalls of dull dialogue and predictability and employs that patented Peetah melancholy to serve as his shining contribution.

Morgan, Choi and Gerald bring a few laughs into the mix but the rest of the cast is largely anonymous (despite fairly liberal on screen time) and serve as a reminder of why it isn’t a good idea to be a minority in a movie where people die.

Overall, Red Dawn can wait for a lazy afternoon where nothing much is expected.  It is fun and in this regard largely exceeds expectations – I was largely engaged from beginning to end. Further, Bradley’s pacing and directorial style helps audiences look past the glaring flaws and accept the entertainment.  While still not likely a film that needed to be remade, it is far from a waste of time and a fun alternative to doing nothing or cow-tipping.

Rating: 6 – A mediocre Prosecco that a cute bartender served you