Review of Red Dawn (1984) by Sal L — 26 Jan 2009

Blam. In your face! Every bad review of this film is like..."I just don't get it...Can you believe this propaganda?...etc. ad nausem." So, Here it is for all you whippersnappers born after, say, 1975 or so.

Here's the scoop. I was born in 1970. This movie came out 1983. It was the first PG-13 movie ever. Here's you history lesson for today:the dadgum theater was slam packed with teens that had grow up in the shadow of the cold war (which was at its peak), and the wall (Berlin) was not to come down for a few years.

Okay. So here we all are in Tucson in this cheering and laughing, pegging all our friends and ourselves as the actors. Wondering if our .22's at home would at least disable the Russians long enough to get a few AK-47's.

See, it helps to know the history around the film and the content of the era it was released. It is not the superficial work the some critics claim. Most of the main characters (at least 4) have depth of emotion.

The plot is believeable, given the context of the times. It's written and directed very well. The cast puts forth a wellspring of talent.