Red Dawn (1984)

A Masterpiece!

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

On the surface this seems like a great action film about a group of teens who are forced to save themselves and their loved ones. At it's core though this film is fear mongering propaganda to scare people into believing the US is weak and the only solution is to arm yourself and beware of foreigners. It's message is subtle but clear once you break down all of the details. The film begins by stating that the US has become weak and isolated because of it's ties with NATO (foreign socialists took handouts from America and bled us dry). Mexico becomes a communist nation (Build That Wall!!!). The US is invaded by Soviets & Cubans (dirty commies and Hispanics). The first casualty is a teacher who also happens to be the only black person in the film (educated liberal). The teacher is killed when he tries talking to the invaders (that's what you get for negotiating with the enemy). The invaders find a list of gun sales and use it to track down and arrest people (a gun registry is just a way of hunting down and persecuting gun owners). The town mayor collaborates with the enemy (you can't trust the government). A downed US pilot reveals the invaders came through Mexico and Alaska (told you we should have built that wall and didn't a VP nominee tell us she could see Russia from her house?). In the end the enemy is defeated and America is saved but that was never the point of the film. It's real purpose was to convince us that foreigners are bad, liberal policies are dangerous, guns should never be registered and you can't trust the government. It's message is loud and clear.

It is the dawn of World War III. In southwestern America and Colorado, a group of teenagers bands together to defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces."Red Dawn" is one of those films that becomes legendary in hindsight. With Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Lea Thompson and more before their biggest roles, you cannot help but be impressed by the ensemble cast. But despite that, there is a lot left wanting here. Much of the plot is nonsense. We are given the impression that either a) the Russians control this one city in the middle of the country or b) they have taken over most of the United States overnight. I am not sure which is more hard to believe.The message is also very unclear. Coming from John Milius, there has to be a message. He is a towering personality, with strong opinions. But is this pro-war, anti-war, pro-freedom? We cheer for the Wolverines, but at the same time we see the Cuban (or Mexican?) colonel in a very human way, and at one point the question is bluntly asked -- how are we (Americans) different from them (Russians)? The answers are hard to find.

I'm not a big fan of '80s teen movies here – show me a John Hughes title and I'll probably run a mile (apart from HOME ALONE, which I have a nostalgic soft spot for). So when I heard about RED DAWN, a film about American teenagers fighting back against a Russian invasion, I didn't get my hopes up too much. The film is far too mainstream to offer any really cutting edge kind of thrills, so instead we're left with a bloated mess, full of average action scenes shot with little flourish or flair and plenty of soul-searching dialogue which got on my nerves after a while. I have a feeling that the Chuck Norris B-movie INVASION USA is a lot more entertaining than this flick.However, it's not all bad. It has a great director in John Milius, and he re-teams with CONAN THE BARBARIAN composer Basil Poledouris so there's a decent soundtrack. There's a big budget and action a-plenty involving shoot-outs, tanks and RPGs; some of the good guy deaths are quite moving. The script isn't all I hoped for, but there's an epic, wide-scale sense to the action which isn't half bad. It's mainly the youthful cast I have problems with. The likes of Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, and Charlie Sheen are all here, but they lack the definition that made them successful Hollywood actors in their own right. There are touches of individuality and acting ability but for the most part they seem faceless, just another figure in an ensemble group. The same goes for BACK TO THE FUTURE's Lea Thompson and DIRTY DANCING's Jennifer Grey. It takes some older actors like the excellent Powers Boothe and baddie William Smith to show them how to act.All in all, RED DAWN is a 'big' '80s film but in the end I found it a little bland for my tastes. There's a good downbeat climax, but the pacing issues up to then make it feel like an all-too-simple case of fight-talk-fight-talk ad nauseum. I enjoyed it, but it's not one I'll be watching again.

First, let me tell you my political views. I have none. I am independent. I do not subscribe to the polarities of republican/democrat. Therefor this is an objective review, or as objective as one can be.Every actor in this movie gives an incredible performance. And it is a star studded cast. Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen (as brothers), C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Grey, Lea Thompson, Harry Dean Stanton. The already good actors are finely tuned here for this epic war drama. There were several parts of the movie where the tears did jerk inside my eyeballs, admittedly. And it's a crying shame that so many people denied themselves the enjoyment of this movie from a sheer dramatic acting and cinematography perspective just because of some silly political views that you really have to search hard to scope out in this movie.Now, that being said, is the movie a product of its time? Absolutely. And that's what adds to the beauty of it (didn't see the remake and will not see it). But it also has many timeless characteristics. Brotherly love, the will to fight with heart and soul for your friends, family and nation. And the question marks it raises, like all good war movies. "Are we really any better than they are?"Enter this movie with an open mind or better yet, with no mind at all, and it will touch your soul. Period. The end.Have a nice day.