Red Dawn

Red Dawn Cover

Red Dawn is an action/war film, it is a remake of 1984 film with the same name. Dan Bradley directed this film and it is his debut as primary director. This film was made in 2012 and features several new and upcoming actors. The film is about a North Korean invasion in USA in which a group of youngsters known as 'Wolverines' fight back, sounds like a silly premise but actually it works well. I'm reviewing this film without any knowledge of the older version and so no comparisons will be made.

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.

Matt (Josh Peck) shocked by the North Korean invasion.

Cinematography:
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)

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Cover

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is an Action/Family film that is inspired by the American toy series G.I. Joe, which is similar to Action Man in the UK. It was directed by Stephen Sommers ('The Mummy' and 'Van Helsing') in 2009 and features a large ensemble cast. Essentially the film has a good vs bad premise which is popular for family movies. Although the special effects that were used are decent, the story was predictable which ruins the plot.

Storyline:
A nanotech-based weapon called 'Nanomites' has been created by a Scottish weapons master named James McCullen (Christopher Eccleston). His company known as M.A.R.S. sells four warheads of the 'Nanomites' to NATO in which the main character Duke (Channing Tatum) and his colleague Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) must deliver the weapons. But alas, they are ambushed by Cobra, which to me and you are the bad guys, and must defend the package. Then G.I. Joe (known simply as 'Joes') arrive and help the remaining soldiers. This leads to Duke and Ripcord joining the Joes and going back to their base. Cobra then attack the base and get the weapons, you already know where this is going. So it's up to the Joes to take back the warheads before the 'Nanomites' are released into cities and devour everything that is metallic. Again, it's a simple good guys vs bad guys plot and it is so predictable! Yes, there are background stories for the main characters which adds a little bit of depth, but it's not enough to save the dry yet blunt story.

Acting:
Right, this is why the movie is saved, the cast. I'll go through the actors by team. So Channing Tatum plays the main protagonist for the Joes, he is mediocre at best. I'm not a big fan of Tatum, I just cannot seem to like his performances. His acting was pretty stale in this film, but you are not watching this movie for the acting, you are watching it for the action. Marlon Wayans plays Ripcord which was a strange choice. He is seen as a funny actor but the film shows us that he is both serious and funny, and I like that. You will want to see more of Wayans instead of Tatum, trust me. Dennis Quaid as General Hawk was a good choice, he is a pretty good actor in general but anyone could have played his character. The other team members were acting at a satisfactory level, nothing amazing so I won't waste time going through them. Now for team Cobra, Christopher Eccleston plays James McCullen, the primary antagonist, and I enjoyed watching him play a villain. He was good in '28 Days Later' but he was pretty menacing in this film. Sienna Miller plays The Baroness and she did a good job, her character was the most emotional considering she is linked with Tatum's character despite being evil, so her acting had to be decent and it was. 

Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) attempting to save Paris.

Cinematography:
The special effects in this film were 50/50, considering six different companies were in charge of the effects. At times the special effects were really good, the explosions and gadgets had good effects. But there were other times when they were really bad, especially scenes that include the Joes flying to a specific place. The scene that sticks out into my mind is when they are flying across the Sahara Desert, awful CGI, just plain bad. This is a 2009 film, 'The Chronicles of Riddick' had better CGI and that was made in 2004. Although I must admit, when the Eiffel Tower was collapsing, that did impress me. So I have a love-hate relationship with the effects of this film. 

Scripting:
Typical family film and I have nothing against it. It's blunt, un-emotional and boring at times. Wayans plays the typical funny guy and he does have some cheesy one-liners but what do you expect, it's just appealing to its target audience and it does. When you look at the cover of the film, you can tell who will be fighting who without even watching the film. The two ninjas (Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow) will be having a throwdown, or more as it turns out. The two female characters will fight. The protagonist and antagonist will fight and it's just too predictable. The script is mediocre, it isn't bad but it's super predictable and that takes away some of the fun from the movie. 

Final Verdict:
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a mediocre family film, it's based off of a toy so don't expect anything amazing. The effects were good in places but the story itself was too predictable and that took alot of the fun away. The cast is pretty good, Wayans and Eccleston particularly, so there are redeeming factors. This means I'm giving G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...

5.5/10                                     Play.com: Used = £2.98                               (*At the time of this review)