Review of Red Dawn (2012) by Tgdrox — 16 Feb 2015

If Red Dawn was the first episode of a mini-series, it would be awesome and I would watch all other 5 episodes. It introduces so many plot points, such as the black kid's father being a sellout, the black kid having a tracking chip in him, the Korean general who threatened to handle things himself, and the huge opportunity for Josh Peck's character to evolve from a whiny, completely unlikable wanker in to a strong, inspiring and competent leader of the Wolverines.

But it isn't.

Would you build half of a bridge?

Would you cook your food halfway?

Would you sleep in half of a bed?

Then why does Red Dawn have only half of a story?

None of those intriguing plot points are ever resolved.

When (spoiler) Chris Hemsworth's character gets killed, I honestly thought "There's no way Josh Peck and Josh Hutcherson can carry the rest of this movie.".

Their characters hadn't developed at all.

Josh Hutcherson's character flip-floped all over the place, one minute puking at the sight of a dead body and the next minute robbing a Subway. Not an underground train, which would be B.A., it was the sandwich chain that he robbed.

Josh Peck's character had no redeeming qualities. He was irresponsible and had gotten people killed because he was so stupid. It would be interesting to see how he had to adapt and step up and grow as a person, having to take his brother's place.

I highly doubted that the two as actors could keep me interested in the movie to the end. But I was interested to see how well they could carry the rest of the movie.

But they didn't carry it. The movie was over. Their characters would never develop. The plot would never be resolved. The story would never be finished.

It wasn't an artistic, creative swerve that left you refreshed and intrigued. It was lazy.