Review of Red Dawn

"Red Dawn" is a 1984 action drama directed by John Milius starring Patrick Swayze and C. Thomas Howell. ⚪ All in all, John Milius' eighties classic parachutes with a lot of seriousness and drops in hostile territory of anti-communistic propaganda, archaic enemy images and exaggerated patriotism, but despite its utter silliness and hilariously unrealistic concept, it is smart enough in the context of its story, what causes it to make a lot fun, and thanks to a superb cast lead by a charismatic Patrick Swayze, a comparatively coherent plot and decent practical effects, it becomes an incredibly stupid yet extremely entertaining, paranoid war fantasy that's too much fun to be terrible. ⚪ As a proclaimed adorer of Emile Ardolino's "Dirty Dancing", the reason I originally became aware of this flick was that it marks the first collaboration of the leading actors of the iconic dance romance, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, and since I am also a die-hard fan of the first's films, it was almost mandatory for me to watch it. However, it wasn't quite easy to track down a Blu-Ray of this film, as it was literally sold out in Germany, and if anyone was offering it, then it was for a utopian price only. So, after months of searching, I was able to get hold of a copy, moreover a British one - and of course, for a reasonable price. Regarding the film, I wasn't expecting much, I just hoped that it would have been worth the time and money - and in the end, it did. I am not going to say that it is a great film, because it is anything but this, but I've had so much with it that it is almost ridiculous. Like, the basic concept is totally bonkers in the first place: out of nowhere, the Russians land in the United States and begin to shoot everything down. In the matter of seconds, an invasion has started, and World War III has begun. The enemy has taken over parts of the country, and it is about a group of teenagers, who were able to escape the attackers at first, and how they fight them and save their hometown from subjugation. Sounds completely crazy? It is, and there is really no denying about that. Considering that this film was released during the zenith of the Cold War, it is obvious why it has been produced in the first place. It is a blatant attempt of conveying anti-communism, patriotism and superiority in a fictional motion picture - and living out one of the most feared scenarios in the history of the USA. Seriously, this film oozes nationalism and follows the plain concept "Russia bad, America good" with a ridiculous one-dimensionality. Yes, it is an undeniably hilarious political statement, a weird demonstration of power, but it is extremely entertaining. As someone who is neither American nor Russian, I don't care about the political aspect of this film or find it offensive (it is still a work of fiction), and I am not going to deny the total absence of logic and realism, but once I was able to look past it, I had a great time with it. Honestly, I probably even enjoyed it much more than I should have. The basic premise of the films sounds like it could have originated from an online multiple battle royale game in the likes of "PUBG", and since I liked it a lot when I was younger, the situation was all too familiar. Like, who wouldn't want to wage a guerrilla war against an invading force with the best friends? All fun put aside, the film makes the best out of it silly premise, and it is mostly thanks to outstanding cast. Next to Swayze as the leader of the group Jed (named after an American icon), we have future "Two And A Half Men" superstar, Charlie Sheen, "Back To The Future" star Lea Thompson, "Dirty Dancing" lead Jennifer Grey, "E.T." actor C. Thomas Howell, action movie warhorse Powers Booth and also a short but significant appearance of Harry Dean Stanton as the protagonist's father. Yes, there is a lot of star power here, and that makes it a lot easier for me to identify with them, as I simply love most of the previously mentioned actors. Together, this group of kids, named "The Wolverines", give the Russians hell, and it is equally dumb and entertaining to watch them do this. Aside from the fact that alleged teenagers, pubescent high school students, act like they are professionally trained soldiers and know to use all the weapons and equipment they find along the way (hey, Jed's father used to take him and his brother on hunting trips, so it makes a lot of sense, I guess?!), their success rate is ridiculously high. I mean, they are just a bunch of scared kids, and you want to tell me that they can fool a freaking army like this? Not really, but again, look past the stupidity, and you will find some in fact decent aspects about it. Since they are just adolescents, their fear about the whole situation is thematised, nevertheless. In many scenes you can see them breaking down in tears because of the mental overload, and in others you can visibly see how they struggle with the fact that they have killed and will have to kill even more - again, they are just kids. However, as the movie goes on, they are increasingly more inured to the situation (mostly thanks to the training of Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Tanner, who they pick up along the way), and dare to do even more - what soon after shows them their mortality. At first, I was sceptical about the fact that none of the kids was injured or killed in the first assaults on the Russian troops, but then it became more and more threatening. The frequent losses of said troops lead the enemy to react accordingly and send reinforcements. Soon after, "The Wolverines" are outnumbered and what started as a funny act of resistance turns into a nightmare of betrayal, horror and death. One by one, the oh so powerful group is decimated, and in the end, all of them are killed brutally. Yes, against my own expectations, the film did a 180, and all the characters that seemed to be untouchable are dead. Even though the film ends with the fact that the Americans eventually won the war and that those teenagers were honoured for the braveness, it was still shocking to see. Speaking of which, this film furthermore convinces with its extreme grittiness. Considering that it was the first film to ever receive a PG-13, it was extremely brutal. Next to a graphic massacre of a school class in the course of which kids are butchered by the invaders, it was extremely intense to see the juvenile protagonists being hunted down one by one as well. Also, the practical effects such as explosions, blood and gore were surprisingly realistic, what added to the horror as well. Yes, the film oozed patriotism and embodies the slogan "Live Free Or Die Trying" in all its silly glory, but aside from the basic stupidity of its concept, it nevertheless delivers decent and horrifying action. The acting is acceptably solid, in the context of its own absurdity, it is astonishingly smart and coherent, and once again, way too much fun to watch. Surely, the cold war propaganda predominant in this case, but all politics put aside, it delivers guilty pleasure entertainment. I could see this as a mini-series, honestly, but they have to change the premise a little in order to make it acceptable. Until then, this will be my movie.