Red Dawn

2012  PG-13  ACTION  1h 33min

CAST— Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Connor Cruise, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

MUSIC— Ramin Djawadi  DIRECTOR— Dan Bradley

     A remake as silly as the original. Small town Washingtonians scurry about as Russian and North Korean forces descend upon their idyllic burg. The invaders begin a reign of terror, imposing prison-like conditions on the populace. But the baddies didn’t count on facing the Wolverines, a band of ticked off teenagers who’ve forsaken their footballs and pom poms for C4 and assault rifles. Chris Hemsworth stars as the leader of the group, a marine on furlough whose militaristic talents come in handy when the kids are desperate for some payback. He must train a motley assortment of teens, all of whom have a chip of some kind on their respective shoulders. If he can get past their raging hormones they just may bring the pain to the Communist conspirators. Never even comes close to being convincing, even with a viewer’s strong suspension of disbelief. With angst to spare this film (and its predecessor) winds up being a gun fanatic’s fantasy that scores for the home team. Wolverines!

OUR RATING— **

ORIGINAL— Red Dawn (1984)