Red Dawn

In 1984 the movie 'Red Dawn' was made. Then in 2010 an Australian version was made. Now we get another go at the story.
'Red Dawn' is another one of those films that has been sitting on the shelf for ages before being released. Sadly that time on the shelf has not been good to the film. Overall the film does not feel cinematic. To me it felt more like a made-for-TV movie and not something you would want to see at the movies. I kind of got the feeling that it had been put under a rigorous test screening process and that things which were not working had been cut out. This means it opens rather quickly. While the opening titles sequence is very effective in conveying lots of information in a small time period there is still lots that need to be explained. The whole premise of the film seems pretty ludicrous anyway. I cannot imagine North Korea getting away with a ground assault on the USA like it is depicted in the film. I have not seen the original film so cannot vouch as to whether the credibility of the premise is better verified then. At least it made more sense in 'Tomorrow When The War Began'. Australia is not a major super power with a huge army and nuclear weapons in its arsenal. The other thing that did not make sense to me was the fact that some Americans were rounded up and put in detention camps. It was never explained as to why these people in particular were singled out and not others. Perhaps I missed some vital piece of information.
Poor Chris Hemsworth seems to have been unlucky with a couple of films he made. Before he became famous with 'Thor' he made 'Red Dawn' and 'The Cabin In The Woods' which had their releases held up. Chris is definitely the best thing in this film. He manages to pitch his performance in just the right way so that he brings dignity to a trashy film. The one thing that really annoyed me about this film was Josh Peck. While his performance was pretty bad what I could not get over was the fact that he did not look like he could be Chris Hemsworth's brother unless he is adopted. Chris looked like the actors who play his parents but Josh would have to have been adopted. A minor point but it was one of those niggling things that just ruined what was already a pretty bad movie. Josh Hutcherson gives a decent performance.
People wonder why Hollywood cannot come up with an original idea and instead keep remaking old films. This film does nothing to make remakes seem like a good idea.