Red Dawn

Red Dawn

Starring Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson
Directed by John Milus

Back when the Soviet Union was still a thing, there was fears of a Cold War between them and the United States, a fear that only escalated in the 80s.  It's during this time "Red Dawn" came out, which is obviously no coincidence as it centers on a gang of teenagers who must defend their small town from an invasion by the Soviets, along with their allies the Cubans and Nicaraguans, and while the film itself has gone down in history, it doesn't particularly hold true to the test of time.

It's an ordinary October day in the small town of Calumet, Colorado, until Soviet paratroopers fly down and begin firing at the school.  A bunch of students including Matt Eckert (Charlie Sheen), Robert Morris (C. Thomas Howell), Daryl Bates (Darren Dalton), Danny (Brad Savage), and Arturo (Doug Toby) manage to escape thanks to Matt's older brother Jed (Patrick Swayze), and they retreat to the mountains to avoid capture.  They're soon welcomed by freedom fighters who are housing two young sisters - Erica Mason (Lea Thompson) and Toni Mason (Jennifer Grey), and they join the boys in the fight.  As the months progress, the ragtag group embarks on guerrilla attacks on the enemy, calling themselves the Wolverines after their high school mascot, in hopes of turning the tide in the new World War.

The film delivered the action like no other film of its time did, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of Records as the most violent film, raking in 134 acts of violence per hour (approximately 2.23 per minute).  When you get that much violence in a small package, you're bound to expect nothing more than that, and that's what you get.  There's some minor character developments, but ultimately you don't really know the character's names, but rather the now-big names that played them, but it doesn't matter in the end because you come for the violence, and you get the violence (albeit it's PG-13 violence, but still).  Back in the day it might've been more exciting, but now the film is very dated in its action, as the gunshots sound very unconvincing, and you can clearly see the effects when explosions happen, but there's still credit to be given for practical effects over CGI (which wasn't invented yet).

The performances were decent enough, but each character is almost as interchangeable as the next.  Back in the time of its release, the cast was relative unknowns, but now they're all memorable stars in their own right, some even appearing in future films together (most notably Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, who re-united for "Dirty Dancing").  The likes of Swayze and Grey, along with C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, and Charlie Sheen (in his first ever film) make for a fun, exciting film with characters you naturally care for because of the actors playing them, and while they don't necessarily serve an important purpose, they do provide the action and seem to have a good time doing it.

What's interesting about the film is the futility of war itself, as it seems almost impossible for a small group of students to turn the tide of a new World War, but it also shows the strength of the human spirit to never give up.  It's interesting to think about what you would do if this actually happened - would you fight, or succumb to the invading force?  While it might be easier to surrender, it's more important to fight back and at least leave a dent in the enemy instead of cowing down to them, and "Red Dawn" manages to show both the insurmountable odds stacked against our heroes, but also the determination they possess to do the right thing.  Maybe that's the important takeaway of such an action-packed film - or maybe it's just sitting back and enjoying the rampant carnage.

Packing a huge now-well-known cast, "Red Dawn" serves as an action-packed adventure that's low on development but high on high-octane explosions and fights.

The Score: A-