When John Milius‘ Red Dawn created in the 1980s, the art of cinema wasn’t necessarily at its peak – especially compared to the deluge of craft played in movie theaters throughout the 1970s. However, at least the 80s delivered a handful of good action movies, including The Terminator, RoboCopand The Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sadly, not every action movie of this crazy decade could be a winner, or even an unintended source of comedy when viewed through modern eyes. Some, like Red Dawn, were just asleep and half done.
In the aftermath of several alternative historical events that occurred in the geopolitical sphere, America, at the beginning of Red Dawn, is detached from the rest of the world thanks to the absence of NATO. The ripple effects of this isolation become evident when one fine autumn morning the country is overrun by enemy forces. Our story begins in Calumet, Colorado, where opposing forces began to descend. Jed Eckert (patrick swayze) narrowly escapes these forces with his brother, Matt (Charlie Sheen), and a handful of other high school-age kids.
Initially, the plan is to have everyone lay down in a nearby forest and hope to escape enemy forces. But after seeing her father in what amounts to a concentration camp and other atrocities committed by the evil invaders (who are Russians backed by military forces from countries like Cuba and Nicaragua), a new plan begins to unfold. emerge. Jed becomes the leader of the Wolverines, a motley group of freedom fighters who will violently oppose the occupying army. From here, Red Dawn sends the cast of an average episode of iCarly go fight the bad guys of a Tom Clancy romance, with plenty of ensuing gunshots.
You might as well be Claude Rains discover that there is gambling in this establishment by discovering the truth that Red Dawn has a regressive gender and race policy. Of course it is. It’s a mid-1980s fantasy that, like so many other films from that era, salivates rather than challenges the country’s Reagan-era sensibilities. That’s not necessarily what makes it bad, though it does point to a lack of imagination or genuine subversiveness in Milius’ storyline and Kevin Reynolds.
The biggest problem here is the shocking lack of unique traits from character to character. Deciding to do the majority of Red Dawn the protagonists being just generic jocks, along with two women who have no personalities to speak of, means there aren’t many interesting interpersonal conflicts or bonds between the Wolverines. Potentially touching scenes of people from very different backgrounds bonding in the face of hardship are absent here. Often it is difficult to discern what makes the dialogue from one teenager to another so unique. The pleasingly oversized caricatures of the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger Where Sylvester Stallone action films are strangely absent here in heroic good guys from Red Dawn.
Without too many characters to win the audience’s investment, the two-hour runtime of Red Dawn becomes a huge challenge. It’s a shame because there’s quite a lot of talent loaded into our main cast. Patrick Swayze has charisma for days, while teenage actor versions of beloved characters like C. Thomas Howell are also there to portray heroic characters. It’s great to see so many future famous faces rubbing shoulders in one movie, but it would be even better if they had something richly entertaining to do.
If there’s a saving grace in Red Dawn, it is unquestionably the visual. Since the script asks the main characters to fight their enemies over several seasons, Milius and the cinematographer ric waite work with a variety of organic color palettes throughout the run. Crisp greens and oranges spice up earlier scenes set in the fall while blankets of white snow provide an evocative, streamlined backdrop for teenage fight scenes. There is a lot of variety in colors and locations scattered throughout Red Dawnwhile the use of practical filming locations lends an added sense of tangibility to the ridiculous storyline.
There are also moments of fun to be found in the way old-fashioned, shameless cornball Red Dawn relates to its history. Just take a moment where a child takes a soccer ball as an important asset while everyone grabs essential supplies like food and water. This is one of the many cases where Red Dawn wears an “aw shucks!” attitude towards the larger world rather than the aura of Toby Keith“Courtesy of Red, White and Blue.” If more of the movie leaned into that kind of tone rather than generically rendered gunfights, Red Dawn would have been much more fun to watch.
Speaking of which, the action sequences in Red Dawn are one of the most disappointing aspects of the entire movie. Gunfights are so much harder to pull off vividly on screen than hand-to-hand skirmishes or sword fights, but they can be executed with real panache under the right filmmaker. Milius, unfortunately, does not have enough imagination to carry out the shootings of Red Dawn with unique flourishes or character-based accents. Additionally, nearly every fight scene takes place with the same type of weaponry, except for one thrilling sequence involving a gigantic MI-24 in a canyon. Unfortunately, this expansive departure from Red Dawn’s action scene standards only reinforces how often scenes of our heroes facing off against alien invaders turn into a buzz of gunfire.
Red Dawn not quite terrible and exhibits its fair share of admirable traits, including giving Harry Dean Stanton the room to deliver a moving monologue. But it’s also a strangely monotonous film that lacks enjoyable characters or urgently immersive films. These teenagers may be on the front line, but it often feels like the film is keeping audiences at bay. The result is a forgettable entry into the canon of patriotic 1980s action films, but it could have been much worse. Just ask for the 2012 Red Dawn remake.
Evaluation: VS-
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Patrick Swayze’s Charisma Can’t Save This ’80s Action Movie – GameSpot