Red Dawn (2012) review

Well, we have another remake to talk about. This one in question is 'Red Dawn', a remake of the 1984 war movie of the same name starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. It was also notably the first film to ever be released in theaters with the PG-13 rating, though it wasn't actually the first to receive the new rating. This new version was originally supposed to be released in 2010, before stars Chris Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson made it big with 'Thor' and 'The Hunger Games', respectively. However, it was pushed back two years and the main villains, who were originally the Chinese, were changed to North Koreans in order to maintain access to China's box office. However, even that doesn't do much to save this pretty weak remake of a film that may not have been a huge critical hit, but has become a cult hit. This film on the other hand...

The film opens up as U.S. Marine Jed Eckert (Hemsworth) returns home to Spokane, Washington after serving in Iraq, reuniting with his father Tom (Brett Cullen) and his brother Matt (Josh Peck). However, the town is soon hit with a surprise invasion by North Korea, and Jed and Matt flee into the woods with some other teens as their dad stays behind. After the town is overrun and Jed and Matt witness their father being executed by the Koreans, Jed announces his intention to fight back and is joined by the other teenagers, including Matt, their friend Robert (Josh Hutcherson), Matt's girlfriend Erica (Isabel Lucas), her friend Toni (Adrianne Palicki), and the mayor's son Daryl (Connor Cruise) to fight the Koreans as 'the Wolverines'.

When this film was in pre-production, MGM (the original distributors of this film) said that this remake would be done "keeping in mind the post-9/11 world that we're in". Well, if that was the plan, than this remake is very much dated because I did not see how this was supposed to feel like a modern-day take on the original story. I may not know much about politics or warfare, but I seriously doubt that a invading country can just simply fly into America and expect to take over anything. Also, there's not even much of an attempt to make it feel like the country is really at war, something the original did. Instead, it only seems like the Koreans are just invading the town of Spokane and really no other part of the country. If they really wanted to do a 'post-9/11' remake of Red Dawn, they should have done something along the line of 'cyber-terrorists'.

 

Also, it doesn't help when you don't care about any of the characters, especially when some of them make really stupid decisions, primarily the character of Matt. When the Koreans first invade, his girlfriend Erica is captured and that compels him to try and rescue her. But by doing so, he gets one of his friends killed in the process, and by the end the film tries to establish him as the one who becomes the leader of the Wolverines. I don't know about you, but I would not want to serve under this guy. His brother Jed is the more suitable leader and speaking of Jed, that brings me to the only good thing in this movie; Chris Hemsworth. Even though this was made before he wielded the mighty Mjolnir as the Asgardian God of Thunder, Hemsworth still gives a rock-solid performance here with what he's given, and he truly does get into a role once occupied by Patrick Swayze. The rest of the cast is rather forgettable at best.

When looking at this remake, I'm reminded of the other major remake of the year, Total Recall, which also got a rather mixed reception. But if there's one thing that I give that film credit for, it is that at least director Len Wiseman did do something different with his version of Total Recall. The remake of Red Dawn, on the other hand, feels like the 1984 version all over again except this time the Koreans are the bad guys. Aside from Chris Hemsworth in the leading role, there is nothing memorable at all about this remake. It is just a unnecessary remake that didn't need to be made in the first place but still, I believe that it could have been done if just a little bit more effort was made but obviously, that is not the case with this film.

 

Rating: 1/5

2012 End of Year Preview: Part 3: November

Welcome back to this four-part look into the upcoming movies in the final quarter of 2012. This is Part 3, where we'll be looking into the month of Thanksgiving, November.

*After spending most of the last decade working strictly through the use of motion-capture, director Robert Zemeckis returns to live-action film making with 'Flight'. Denzel Washington stars as a pilot who gets into a plane crash but saves everyone on board by making an emergency landing. However, a shocking truth of what happened while he was flying could spell trouble for him in the long run. The film comes out on the 2^nd.

*For the martial arts crowd, November 2^nd also sees the release of 'The Man with the Iron Fists'. The directorial debut of musician RZA stars himself as a blacksmith who must save his village from invaders. The film also stars Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu.

*Closing out the weekend of November 2^nd is one for the video game fanatics, Wreck-It-Ralph, the latest animated film from Disney and produced by Pixar's John Lasseter. It centers around the titular 'Wreck-It-Ralph', the bad guy in a popular arcade video game who grows tired of being the villain and yearns to be a good guy for once as he travels across multiple video games looking to find his place in life. John C. Reilly stars as Ralph and his co-stars include Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, and Jane Lynch. The movie also features cameos from many characters from other video games including Sonic, Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter, and Bowser from Super Mario Bros (sorry, no Mario or Luigi).

*November 9^th sees the return of one 'Bond... James Bond' with the latest Bond flick, Skyfall, the 23^rd entry in this long running franchise. Daniel Craig returns for a third time as Agent 007, who returns from an apparent demise to face off against Javier Bardem's Raoul Silva when MI6 falls under attack. Sam Mendes (American Beauty) helms this new flick and newcomers include Ralph Fiennes as a government agent monitoring MI6, Naomie Harris as field agent Eve, and Ben Whishaw as Q, the first time the character has appeared in a Bond film since the last Pierce Brosnan film 'Die Another Day'. For those in the UK, Skyfall comes out a few weeks earlier on October 26^th but here in the U.S., you'll have to wait until November.

*November 16^th won't give much in terms of competition for what will probably be number one that week, the final entry in the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn Part 2.

*Continuing the long line of remakes that come out every year is 'Red Dawn', a remake of the 1984 flick of the same name which was notably the first film to ever be released with the PG-13 rating. This project has been in development since 2009 but due to financial issues with MGM, it doesn't come out until the 21^st of November of this year after it was originally planned for a 2010 release. During this time, the main villains were changed from the Chinese to North Korea in order to maintain access to China's box office. This remake stars Chris 'Thor' Hemsworth and Josh Peck in the roles once held by Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen. Like with 'House at the End of Street', however, this was filmed before Hemsworth and co-star Josh Hutcherson made it big in Hollywood with their roles in Thor and The Hunger Games, respectively.

*November 21^st also sees the release of the latest from Dreamworks Animation, Rise of the Guardians. This new animated feature, produced by Guillermo Del Toro, focuses on the 'Immortal Guardians' who must band together when the Earth is threatened by the Boogeyman. The all-star cast includes Chris Pine as Jack Frost, Hugh Jackman as the Easter Bunny, Alec Baldwin as Santa Claus, Isla Fisher as the Tooth Fairy, and Jude Law as the Boogeyman.

*Finally, this weekend also sees the release of the latest from the director of 'The Fighter', 'The Silver Linings Playbook. This dramedy stars Bradley Cooper as an ex-teacher who moves back in with his parents (played by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver) after a stint in a mental institution as he tries to get his life back together. He soon meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a girl who has had problems of her own, and the two form a unique bond as they get to know each other.

In terms of Limited Releases, there's one big one for this month...

*Earlier this year, we had the action-fantasy flick 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'. For those of you looking for a more historically accurate take on our country's sixteenth President, you're in luck with 'Lincoln', directed by Steven Spielberg. In the lead role as Lincoln is Daniel Day Lewis and the film, which is based on the biography 'Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln' by Doris Kearns Goodwin, will follow Lincoln during the last few months of his life, from the abolishment of slavery to his untimely assassination at Ford's Theater. Joining Day Lewis is Sally Field as First Lady Mary Todd, Joseph Gordon Levitt as their son Robert, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jared Harris. 'Lincoln' hits theaters, in limited release, on November 16^th.

And that is all for the month of November. Stay tuned for the finale of this four-part preview with a look into the month of December.