North Korea The Villain In This Rehash Of Yankee Patriotism
By ALAN SAMUEL
Politics can be a brutal affair. World affairs prove downright menacing in Red Dawn, a snappy remake of an 80s classic now turning up the heat at Empire Studio 12, Colossus and Cineplex Odeon Cinemas around B.C.
Set in Washington State this tale focuses on the sleepy town of Spokane that seems to be getting overrun” by some heavenly invaders. Right out of the blue an armed force starts menacing the town folk. Up against all these soldiers and their weapons and it’s not too hard to understand why the citizens of this peace loving community give up so easily.
All hope seems to be lost as the entire town seems to be gripped with fear. Only a few brave souls decide it’s better to fight than to give in or give up. Led by family man Jed Eckert a determined lot of largely young rabble rousers decide to stand up and be counted. Head honco Chris Hemsworth seems to have all the right stuff as the leader of this rag tag group of freedom fighters. Such a small force seems to have no prayer of beating the enemy but this group of Wolverines manages to be particularly effective in throwing the invaders off base.
Internal strife and some pangs of romance turns Red Dawn into a fairly good yarn. Brains and brawn are the order of the day as the would-be heroes do what they can to foil the plans of Captain Lo and his armed forces. Doing nasty right is Will Yun Len who looks and acts dangerous.
Director Dan Bradley does a good job creating an eerie atmosphere of a society trapped by an ongoing assault. Fun for the macho set Red Dawn is an exciting escapist yarn with the usual good guys and bad guys that some may find intriguing.k
