Red Dawn

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W. N. W @Meanypunches Apr 27 I always enjoyed watching this movie since I was a teenager watching it on HBO in the 80s. Yes it is overwrought and hyperbolic. Still the performances are great and the story is solid. Milius knew what he was doing. If you want to know how we won the Cold War it is the spirit here and not the letter of the script that carries the day. Worth a watch for fans of Milius and 80s cinema. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Mar 7 Successful action-packed movie in 1 hour and 54 minutes. Ages 13 and older. See more Steven F. @SteveGotScored Mar 5 Such a classic action movie! See more Ernestas R @Calicifer Dec 19 Red Dawn is at least watchable movie and it wouldn't be that bad if it wouldn't be as long as it's. Movie has everything about poor cinema. No-name actors, poor props and special effects, bad writing, cliches. It has out of place feminism placements of women not wanting to watch dishes and how awful man is. Likewise, a father after their sons leave starts screaming "AVENGE ME" from a semi open camp for dissidents. It completely ignored the mood it set moments before and was delivered in such ridiculous manner. Likewise, there are a lot of scenes which have no point and could be cut off. A lot of pointless tension and idle time when nothing much is happening or they are building suspense to nothing much. Movie might had its cultural time back then, but now it's outdated with no redeeming cultural significance. I don't think that it deserves either 1 star or 5 stars like a lot of 'critics' gave them. It speaks more ill about how bad they are at their own hobby than about the movie. See more William D. @Williams0604 Oct 5 This is a great movie. I would recommend it to anyone as a must watch. See more DanTheMan 2 @DanTheMan2150AD Aug 17 Packing plenty of rabble-rousing ammunition that plays like a jumped-up, big-budget Cannon production, Red Dawn is undoubtedly a time capsule of Cold War tension, so entrenched in the political climate of its era that separating its messages on resilience and emotional turmoil from the hard-bitten camp and the jingoistic excess is often a line that most will obscure and confuse. The truth of the matter is that the film has managed to remain explicitly relevant in its depiction of the toll war takes on humanity and relationships, as well as the downsides of deciding to fight at all. We know what's at stake. We understand what people living through this war are thinking, feeling, and facing every single day. All of it feels eerily similar to events nowadays. What sets it apart from the other all-American patriot films, which it's often compared to, from around the same time, is the film's stark realism. The protagonists are not indestructible powerhouses capable of superhuman feats; rather, they are ordinary people who are quite vulnerable, and, by the film's end, little to nothing has been accomplished in liberating their homes. While the invaders are wrong, the film recognises them as human, while the violence is initially exultant, by the second half, it becomes brutal, horrifying and tragic. All of this is captured with an unconventional beauty by director John Milius, resulting in a hyper-budgeted B-movie mix of high-stakes action, heartfelt performances and a stirring Basil Poledouris score, that creates a film that's both thrilling and inspiring; all topped off by a ragtag cast of brilliance, which includes the likes of Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey, with Harry Dean Stanton even getting a small but compelling role. Swayze is particularly inspired casting as he has both the charisma and physicality necessary to convince the audience that he can turn a bunch of high school children into a fighting force. Yet he can also project the sensitivity necessary to convey his character's turmoil as the grim reality of war grinds away at him. The scene where Swayze kills an invader up close for the first time is not heroic. Instead, he executes a wounded and terrified man. His anger overwhelms any mercy he might feel. It's an ugly and savage moment, and Swayze perfectly captures this. While other films of this nature may have us taking a bird's eye or journalistic view, almost detached from the lives lost and destruction around us, Red Dawn has us running and fighting alongside the protagonists. We also cry with them, grieve with them, and get a taste of where our anger and thirst for vengeance might one day take us. One that still resonates today. See more Read all reviews

Red Dawn

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