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Plot |
Jed Eckert (Chris Hemsworth) is an US soldier on leave with his family. His Father Tom (Brett Cullen) is the sheriff and his younger brother Matt (Josh Peck) is still in High School. Then one night the power goes out for the whole town. No one thinks anything of it except for Jed’s father who thinks the kids might cause some trouble, but the real culprit is the government of South Korean who is in the process of launching an attack on the United States with the help of Russia and some other nations. The next morning Jed and Matt wake to see that they are under sieged with army vehicles and paratroopers. They are able to meet up with their father who tells them to get out of town and hide at the family cabin in the woods. Matt tells Jed who is driving that they need to pick up his girlfriend Erica (Isabel Lucas), but when they get to her house she is being taken away. Their presence does not go unnoticed and soldiers are telling them to pull over. Jed drives pass the soldiers and is able to pick up a couple of Matt’s friends before breaking away towards the cabin. |
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Character Development |
There is some development of the characters, but not much. Mostly the dialog has to do with tactics and not how they are going to deal with what is happening to them emotionally. There just aren't any real moments where anyone expresses themselves. Sometimes there are some breakthroughs, only they were on rare occasions if they ever did happen. Most characters had very little personality. |
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Acting |
There were a few moments of acting where there was some dialog and some speeches and bonding, but more of it was fighting and yelling and blowing crap up. |
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Overview |
The sea of bad reviews has turned on Red Dawn and as far as I can tell it is full of some empty criticisms. Most of them sink within a moment's thought. It is as if they were paid to write negative conclusions about every single thing that happened on screen. Maybe the director or one of the actors wronged them in some way and this their way of exacting some revenge. The simple fact is that what they say doesn't reflect what is projected on the screen. Like spotty camera work. Sorry didn't happen. And don't they possess a modicum of disbelief? All matter of strange and bizarre events have taken place in a movie theater. Does the premise of the United States being occupied by foreign powers meaning more than one exceed these limits that have historical been extremely laid-back? Once clear of these little hiccups there is no turning back. The writing is engaging and at times really moving with a cast of characters that carry the action and drama to a degree that can be believed. From the vehicles, to the number of extras, and explosions it is clear that a great deal of expense went into the production. It would be a shame that a bunch of uppity hecklers would steer away a movie goer looking for a film that delivers PG-13 level action with some nice twists and turns, mixed in with a fair amount of drama and a little humor. If I were more cynical I might conclude that these naysayers just cannot stand Americans fighting for their county. I am reminded of Act of Valor (2012) and how it was also riddled full of holes as well with dubious reasons. If you can stomach patriotism perhaps you will enjoy this movie otherwise you might be forced to regurgitate your findings into a lackluster falling star review. |
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