Review of Red Dawn (1984) by Michael T — 29 Mar 2009
This film was rendered obsolete by the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe (1989-91). A bunch of 'Brat Pack' actors (Swayze, Howell, Thompson, Sheen & Grey) take to the hills when Soviet paratroopers land in their Colorado town.
Soon they are fighting a guerilla war against Soviet, Warsaw Pact, and Cuban troops who have overrun the Western United States and are only being held back by the American military at the continental divide.
On the plus side, John Milius directs a pretty action-packed film with a military/gun buff's eye for detail. The politics of the film are somewhat problematic. Milius has stated that he wanted to show what the people in Afghanistan were going through under Soviet occupation but this film is a right-wing Libertarian populist fantasy in which the Americans are the underdogs and the good guys fighting the good fight against the Ruskies.
A bit of a crock but it did make Reagan's Cold War politics accessible to the 'MTV Generation.' Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey would reunite in DIRTY DANCING in 1987.
This review of Red Dawn (1984) was written by Michael T on 29 Mar 2009.
Red Dawn has generally received mixed reviews.
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