I like watching movies and love to write good reviews of movies and Red Dawn was a film that I had missed in its original release back in the 80s. I was looking forward to seeing it. I would have been 14 at the time of release and maybe it would have hit a more resonant nerve if I had seen it at that age - but now it is simply dreadful.
In 1983 - The Outsiders - directed by Coppola starred Howell, Swayze and Dalton. It is a fantastic film, a great story, good acting and superb directing. The next year - 1984 - all three combine again in Red Dawn to abysmal results. What happened? The cast for Red Dawn was a good one - Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey adding more youth and Powers Boothe and Harry Dean Stanton providing some experience. But Milius' handling of the script, dialogue, action scenes, sound, everything is terrible.
A quick summary of the film's premise is this - soviet troops invade America at the start of WW3. A few teenagers escape to the mountains and wage a guerrilla style attack on the forces over a number of months.
What is wrong with this movie?
1. The characters. No time is given to their background before the attack starts. And they are so cardboard that they do not even come close to discussing the situation they find themselves in - they simply accept it. Their whole lives change in the blink of an eye and they act as if they are ordering Pepsi because there is no Coke left.
2. The acting. If the characters were poorly developed - the acting was embarrassing. Howell lost all he had gained from The Outsiders within 2 minutes of being on-screen. I blame Milius for this as Howell was great in Outsiders and subsequently great in The Hitcher. In between those films Howell lost out on the Marty McFly part in BTTF and subsequently - lost the franchise to being a very successful actor. All Milius' fault? Maybe not - but seeing as Lea Thompson was in BTTF and in this too - Howell must feel aggrieved. Stanton's 'Avenge me' scene is toe-curdling bad.
3. The action scenes. Repetitive scenes of our unknown cast of Brat-Packers wandering around the Rockies blasting everything with a red star. The scenes are slow, tedious and downright boring after the umpteenth scenario. The scandal here is that you can see the amount of money spent on explosions / tanks etc. is quite a lot - but there is zero tension in the build up to these. It is like watching a series of unrelated incidents carried out by a bunch of different people every time. You cannot even make out who is doing what.
4. The Dialogue. The amount of times dreadful lines are delivered by incompetent actors is astounding. Did anyone even read this script beforehand? Sometimes, I thought the editing room was having a laugh - for in some scenes it looks like the kids are not even fully ready for the upcoming scene. Their delivery is abysmal but in truth the words that were on the paper, embarrassingly bad. Boothe's death scene is especially bad. As he is shot through the back and hanging from the turret of a soviet tank - he has to deliver his last words to the kids "Shoot straight. For a change." Then he dies. My God, I'd say he was delighted that day to finally get off home with his cheque. Not one to show his grandkids that's for sure.
5. The Camera-work. Bar the set-up introductory shots for the changing of the seasons - which consisted of 2 or 3 shots of the Rockies during December, January etc. - the cinematography was downright shoddy. Everything seemed too far away. The camera was too far from the actors to hear what they were saying (the sound obviously re-dubbed on a sound stage afterwards) and to see emotion in their faces. If the audience is not close enough to the actors to feel their emotions - then we cannot identify with them. The whole thing looked like watching a football match from the very highest seat in the stadium.
6. The Music. Overbearing, intrusive and dominating every scene it is involved with by beating it down so hard - your ears start to bleed.
7. The Plot. The overall premise is not bad but the execution of it terrible. The soviets must have been thick as planks for we learn during the movie that they are on high lookout for our teenage gang - yet they can walk freely among the town, among the soldiers as if they were invisible. Remember, this is a small hick town - not New York - they should be noticed. Where did the Wolerines get all the ammo, guns, RPGs, Claymores, machine guns for their attacks? Okay they got some supplies from Howell's father's shop - a very convenient gun/grocery/camping shop - but do they sell Claymores? I don't think so. It's also hard to swallow the fact that a well organised machine like the Russian army will succumb to a bunch of kids running around the mountains - it just does not ring true. Howell's last stand against the Russian helicopters beggars belief. He is so careful all through the movie not to expose himself but yet decides out of the blue to stand in the open and fire a tiddlywink gun at 2 Russian attack choppers - only to get killed. Why? Too much stuff here to mention but take it on faith that it was bad.
All in all a really bad film made by a terrible director.
2/10 - Avoid at all costs.
In 1983 - The Outsiders - directed by Coppola starred Howell, Swayze and Dalton. It is a fantastic film, a great story, good acting and superb directing. The next year - 1984 - all three combine again in Red Dawn to abysmal results. What happened? The cast for Red Dawn was a good one - Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey adding more youth and Powers Boothe and Harry Dean Stanton providing some experience. But Milius' handling of the script, dialogue, action scenes, sound, everything is terrible.
A quick summary of the film's premise is this - soviet troops invade America at the start of WW3. A few teenagers escape to the mountains and wage a guerrilla style attack on the forces over a number of months.
What is wrong with this movie?
1. The characters. No time is given to their background before the attack starts. And they are so cardboard that they do not even come close to discussing the situation they find themselves in - they simply accept it. Their whole lives change in the blink of an eye and they act as if they are ordering Pepsi because there is no Coke left.
2. The acting. If the characters were poorly developed - the acting was embarrassing. Howell lost all he had gained from The Outsiders within 2 minutes of being on-screen. I blame Milius for this as Howell was great in Outsiders and subsequently great in The Hitcher. In between those films Howell lost out on the Marty McFly part in BTTF and subsequently - lost the franchise to being a very successful actor. All Milius' fault? Maybe not - but seeing as Lea Thompson was in BTTF and in this too - Howell must feel aggrieved. Stanton's 'Avenge me' scene is toe-curdling bad.
3. The action scenes. Repetitive scenes of our unknown cast of Brat-Packers wandering around the Rockies blasting everything with a red star. The scenes are slow, tedious and downright boring after the umpteenth scenario. The scandal here is that you can see the amount of money spent on explosions / tanks etc. is quite a lot - but there is zero tension in the build up to these. It is like watching a series of unrelated incidents carried out by a bunch of different people every time. You cannot even make out who is doing what.
4. The Dialogue. The amount of times dreadful lines are delivered by incompetent actors is astounding. Did anyone even read this script beforehand? Sometimes, I thought the editing room was having a laugh - for in some scenes it looks like the kids are not even fully ready for the upcoming scene. Their delivery is abysmal but in truth the words that were on the paper, embarrassingly bad. Boothe's death scene is especially bad. As he is shot through the back and hanging from the turret of a soviet tank - he has to deliver his last words to the kids "Shoot straight. For a change." Then he dies. My God, I'd say he was delighted that day to finally get off home with his cheque. Not one to show his grandkids that's for sure.
5. The Camera-work. Bar the set-up introductory shots for the changing of the seasons - which consisted of 2 or 3 shots of the Rockies during December, January etc. - the cinematography was downright shoddy. Everything seemed too far away. The camera was too far from the actors to hear what they were saying (the sound obviously re-dubbed on a sound stage afterwards) and to see emotion in their faces. If the audience is not close enough to the actors to feel their emotions - then we cannot identify with them. The whole thing looked like watching a football match from the very highest seat in the stadium.
6. The Music. Overbearing, intrusive and dominating every scene it is involved with by beating it down so hard - your ears start to bleed.
7. The Plot. The overall premise is not bad but the execution of it terrible. The soviets must have been thick as planks for we learn during the movie that they are on high lookout for our teenage gang - yet they can walk freely among the town, among the soldiers as if they were invisible. Remember, this is a small hick town - not New York - they should be noticed. Where did the Wolerines get all the ammo, guns, RPGs, Claymores, machine guns for their attacks? Okay they got some supplies from Howell's father's shop - a very convenient gun/grocery/camping shop - but do they sell Claymores? I don't think so. It's also hard to swallow the fact that a well organised machine like the Russian army will succumb to a bunch of kids running around the mountains - it just does not ring true. Howell's last stand against the Russian helicopters beggars belief. He is so careful all through the movie not to expose himself but yet decides out of the blue to stand in the open and fire a tiddlywink gun at 2 Russian attack choppers - only to get killed. Why? Too much stuff here to mention but take it on faith that it was bad.
All in all a really bad film made by a terrible director.
2/10 - Avoid at all costs.