Director: John Milius
Writer: John Milius, Kevin Reynolds (Screenplay) Kevin Reynolds (Story)
Starring: Patrick Swayze, C Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Darren Dalton, Jennifer Grey, Brad Savage, Powers Boothe
Plot: It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers bands together to defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Classic
Story: Red Dawn starts when a military group parachute into a small American town as we follow a group of high school student including Robert (Howell), Matt (Sheen), Daryl (Dalton) Danny (Savage) and older brother Jed (Swayze) escape the attack looking to find safety during the attack.
Heading into the mountains Jed has to unite the boys as they look to survive in the mountains. When the boys learn how serious everything is and World War III is happening they have to take care of two girls Erica (Thompson) & Toni (Grey) who join their battle against the soldiers who have taken over their home town with the instructions from Colonel Tanner (Boothe).
Red Dawn is one of those stories that puts us into a hypothetical situation where we are left to wonder how we would act if something similar would happen. Saying this I would like to say it shows how this kids start weak and become warriors trying to protect their own country. I do think this is one that will stick in the memory and also offers a new twist to the war genre.
Actor Review
Patrick Swayze: Jed is the older brother to Matt and the one who takes charge of the teenagers through the fight back against the invading enemy. He keeps calm while the rest just want to break down and turns them all into soldiers. Patrick showed that he is a great leading man in this story showing great leadership.
C Thomas Howell: Robert is the friend of Matt, he isn’t as tough as the rest but he quickly learns to fight back after hearing what happened to his parents during the invasion. C Thomas does a good job in this role and is easily the biggest development in the character.
Lea Thompson: Erica is one of the two granddaughters of a local who is forced to join the boys for safety, she is the tough one of the two and won’t let the boys walk all over her as she wants to join the fight and proves to be a powerful ally. Lea does a good job in this role showing she was going to be a name for the future.
Charlie Sheen: Matt is the younger brother to Jeb who has the survival skills but not the fighting skills, he does learn in the shadow of his brother. Charlie I think struggled to look the part in this role never really looking like he fits in.
Support Cast: Red Dawn has good supporting cast that all look like they are struggling to cope with the situation we are in.
Director Review: John Milius – John does a good job directing a film that will live long in the memory.
Action: Red Dawn has good war time action throughout.
War: Red Dawn brings us a nice twist on the war genre.
Settings: Red Dawn shows us just how a small town can fall without knowing of invasion.
Special Effects: Red Dawn has good war time effects through the film.
Suggestion: Red Dawn this is one film to watch through the course of time. (Watch)
Best Part: The development of the boys.
Worst Part: Charlie Sheen doesn’t seem to fit in.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No, but a remake.
Post Credits Scene: No
Similar Too: Tomorrow When The War Began
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
Tagline: . A Gang of high-school kids become the last line of defence.
Overall: A true classic in the war genre that shows how everyone will act during the desperate time
Rating