New To Blu: Red Dawn
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Being a child of the 80's, the original Red Dawn is held in high regard as one of the best action movies of my childhood. The original film came at a perfect time when the U.S. was on high alert, fearful of either a nuclear war or a foreign entity trying to take over the homeland. As unlikely as either of those scenarios were, the movie created a unique situation in which teenagers tried to take on the forces of a far superior invading army. Sadly for us, this remake bears little resemblance to the original. It's short on story and loosely based on the original.
As much as I wanted to hate this remake, all is not bad. Some of the action sequences are far more advanced and much more detailed than 1984 release. This updated version definitely strives to up the amount of gun play and large explosions. However, the film lacks a great villain and most of the characters are shamefully miscast. In general, it's just a mediocre movie that spent too much time on the shelf and didn't receive the care that a great remake needs. The writing is mostly lazy with barely enough nods to the original. You can only scream "Wolverines!!!" so many times before it becomes quite apparent that the writers are just trying to kill time.
If you're looking for something mildly entertaining that stars bad twenty something actors starring as high school kids, maybe give it a look. It's not horrendous, but it's not great either. Yet, I think I might be holding the original in too high regard. I think a lot of the problems I see with this remake also exist in the 1984 Red Dawn.