Review of Red Dawn (1984) by Brandon S — 19 Feb 2016

I watched this film possibly with too high of expectations but was sorely disappointed in what I was given. A real mixed bag.

This action-packed adventure follows a group of driven young survivors that fight to survive a foreign invasion of the United States.

This isn't a particularly good movie but its not bad either. It's about the equivalent to playing a Call of Duty game over and over for almost two hours. On a primal level I loved the action and exciting visuals but I just couldn't get passed the writing. The acting isn't awful by any means but the writing is so dull and unnatural. I can't rightly comment on the directing because there isn't really any kind of direction to speak of. It feels like a bunch of unorganized vignettes mashed together into a chaotic piece of mind-numbing repetitive action.

Patrick Swayze delivers a forgettable and horribly generic performance with no help from his co-stars. Charlie Sheen is surprisingly very dismal and boring but I was very pleased with Howell. C. Thomas Howell was actually quote impressive. Delivering that extremely famous line.

It's not a great film but that's not to be expected. If you're a first timer like I was then just sit back relax and enjoy the action. Try and do what I didn't and ignore any preconceived notions about the film being amazing and being this hugely influential cult classic. Just watch and try and enjoy it.