Thursday, June 25, 2009

Red Dawn

I don't get it. I honestly never found it all that entertaining of a movie. Sacrilege I know.

10 comments:

Bob S. said...

Mike W.

Aren't you a youngster? I guess that makes the difference for us that were kids when it came out.

The USSR was the biggest, baddest MoFo on the block at the time. Teen angst, rebellion, shooting, messing with the bad guys held great appeal especially when the bad guys were commies.

Think Lord of the Flies meets WWIII.

Not sacrilege at all, but close to heresy :) Honestly, there are some movies that are defined by their times. I was past the age for such movies as Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc but know folks who think they are the best.

What movies are you a big fan of?

NotClauswitz said...

I've never seen it either, but I seldom go to movies and (obviously) I missed it when it came out.

Eric R. Shelton said...

Dude. You are SO off my blogroll! ;)

Seriously though, Bob S. hit the nail on the head about the times defining it. I grew up in Tucson, a Titan II missile site, with warning klaxons lining major streets, and watching flicks like WarGames (also dumb). Seeing Communists parachute into Las Vegas, NM (where Red Dawn was filmed) probably had a much different impact on me.

none said...

Growing up during the cold war and being a gun nut at the same time made this movie a wet dream when it came out.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, we are just in the wrong generation, MikeW. I watched it out of sheer curiosity one day, and while I found it to be a relatively entertaining movie, I did not find it in any way plausible. Or, rather, I did not find the opening premise probable - a guerilla force making a regular army's life miserable has been proven plausible throughout history.

Unfortunately, I hear Red Dawn is being re-made... God alone knows what Hollywood will do to it.

Laura said...

i definitely think it's the age difference (no offense, Mike, but you are quite a bit younger than even me. ;) ). i mean, the younger folks who saw Watchmen didn't get it, either - it was so tuned to the cold war that people who didn't live through it wouldn't get half of it.

Anonymous said...

It is an age dependent thing I guess. If you didn't grow up during the cold war, the whole thing is probably lost on you.
As for the plausible thing, well it is a movie. I doubt any of the folks who love the movie back then considered the story plausible. The general idea of an all out war with the Soviets was very real, and the movie was fun to watch.
Now if you want a more plausible WW3 flick there was a tv movie back in 82 called (shockingly enough) World war III. It featured a limited commando strike by the Soviets on the oil pipeline in Alaska in retaliation for a grain embargo.
Haven't seen it in years, and I don't know if it ever made it to dvd. It is a good flick, if you can find it.

-Dave

mike's spot said...

I have a copy of it. Its not a favorite, but I watch it when its on.

That being said you and I are close in age, so you probably always watch boondock saints when its on, when others might give that a pass :)

none said...

Oh another thing about Red Dawn is that it was directed by John Milius.who also did Dirty Harry and also currently sits on the board of directors for the NRA

Unknown said...

In about 10-20 yrs someone will remake Red Dawn but with Chinese instead.