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| Red Dawn Cover |
Storyline:
The storyline is simple, North Koreans invade USA. That is essentially it. A group of teens join together, with their leader being Jed (Chris Hemsworth), and attempt to fight back, calling themselves 'Wolverines'. They believe that fighting back will cause other civilians to pick up a weapon and join the rebellion against the North Koreans. The teens soon realise that a Russian is involved and provides an EMP to disable the US electrical grid. So why are the North Koreans invading anyway? I don't actually know. I don't think the film tells you a straightforward answer, actually I'm certain there is no answer to that. We just automatically assume that the North Koreans are the bad guys, but are they? Or are they just seeking peace? We will never know. I have to say though, the ending 'twist' made me get out of my chair and stand in front of my TV in shock and horror. Only a few films do that so props!
Acting:
The acting is pretty solid in this film. The majority of actors are teenagers or really young adults which is good to see, new young actors are always welcome to the big screen. Chris Hemsworth is the leader of the 'Wolverines' and he is good, he isn't a versatile actor in my opinion and this role has been done before by him (in 'Cabin in the Woods') but he is good. Josh Peck was the biggest surprise, yes the guy from 'Drake & Josh' is in this film. Where has he been all this time? He has proven himself in this movie, he is a great actor. Josh Hutcherson is also in this film, I'm not a huge fan of his. He plays the same stale role in every movie and he does so in this film. Will Yun Lee plays Captain Cho, who is the leader of a particular taken district that now belongs to the North Koreans. When I first saw him, I thought to myself: "Isn't that the bad guy from 'Die Another Day'?" and it was and he was good playing the antagonist. The rest of the teens were all good, nothing amazing, just good.
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| Matt (Josh Peck) shocked by the North Korean invasion. |
Explosions. Explosions. Explosions. There are alot of explosions, but it is a war film after all. The explosions looked realistic which is the main thing. In the beginning of the film, the invasion starts and an war airplane breaks off it's wing and flies straight into a house and explodes, that impressed me. Very realistic. The paratroopers in the sky looked a bit like floating toy soldiers but it's not too bad. Camera shots at night were not too dark so you couldn't see anything but not too bright that you see everything, it was just right and that enhances the realism of the film.
Scripting:
The script was not that predictable which is good. The ending though, did not see that coming at all. Usually I can foresee the ending, but this was something else! The only cheesy part of the script is when Josh's character repeats the same inspirational lines that Chris's character said earlier on just to add empathy and a sense of an ultimatum to civilians. Was it necessary? No. But I understand why they did it. Overall the script was interesting, it was good to see character's develop as they venture forth into the war.
Final Verdict:
Red Dawn surprised me, it really did. I thought I wasn't going to enjoy it considering what the critics say but actually it was great. It just goes to show you shouldn't always believe what critics say. It is a realistic war film that may have a silly premise, but if you watch it for what it is, you will enjoy it immensely. If you've seen the original, then your score may be different to mine as you would be comparing the two. This means I'm giving Red Dawn...
8/10 Play.com: Used = £7.99 (*At the time of this review)
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