*********************Spoiler Alert************************
Much of the technical criticism mentioned by others of "Red Dawn" is justified. The notion that a group of untrained teenagers could take on even a poorly motivated army like Cuba's or the now-extinct Soviet Union's is not credible. The best part of the movie is watching the teenagers struggle with the morality of guerrilla warfare. I give it a 6 out of 10.
But "Red Dawn" is well worth watching for one reason. It represents one of the last movies Hollywood put out that did not look like a joint venture between the Democrat National Committee and Code Pink.
Even in 1984 the "blockbuster" mentality was already changing the face of Hollywood. Every year lefty movie studio moguls churn out brain-destroying fare such as "Syriana", "Brokeback Mountain", "W", "Rendition", "Stop Loss", "Che", "Good Night and Good Luck", and "Redacted" by the truckload. All of these movies were wildly popular with critics, and not a few won major awards. All of them (not coincidentally) flopped at the box office. If it were not for blockbuster movies like "Spiderman", the "Star Wars" series, "Transformers", and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy riding to the rescue like the cavalry, Hollywood would require a Federal bailout of epic proportions (pun semi-intended).
But in 1984 there was still some independent thinking to be had in Hollywood. If nothing else, "Red Dawn" is interesting to contrast with "The Day After", another move that came out at roughly the same time. The latter is memorable for the anti-American paranoia that was rising in power and influence and would soon swamp Hollywood.
Much of the technical criticism mentioned by others of "Red Dawn" is justified. The notion that a group of untrained teenagers could take on even a poorly motivated army like Cuba's or the now-extinct Soviet Union's is not credible. The best part of the movie is watching the teenagers struggle with the morality of guerrilla warfare. I give it a 6 out of 10.
But "Red Dawn" is well worth watching for one reason. It represents one of the last movies Hollywood put out that did not look like a joint venture between the Democrat National Committee and Code Pink.
Even in 1984 the "blockbuster" mentality was already changing the face of Hollywood. Every year lefty movie studio moguls churn out brain-destroying fare such as "Syriana", "Brokeback Mountain", "W", "Rendition", "Stop Loss", "Che", "Good Night and Good Luck", and "Redacted" by the truckload. All of these movies were wildly popular with critics, and not a few won major awards. All of them (not coincidentally) flopped at the box office. If it were not for blockbuster movies like "Spiderman", the "Star Wars" series, "Transformers", and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy riding to the rescue like the cavalry, Hollywood would require a Federal bailout of epic proportions (pun semi-intended).
But in 1984 there was still some independent thinking to be had in Hollywood. If nothing else, "Red Dawn" is interesting to contrast with "The Day After", another move that came out at roughly the same time. The latter is memorable for the anti-American paranoia that was rising in power and influence and would soon swamp Hollywood.