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Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, Isabel Lucas ... see more see more... , Connor Cruise , Jeffrey Dean Morgan , Edwin Hodge , Alyssa Diaz , Julian Alcaraz , Will Yun Lee , Brett Cullen , Michael Beach , Fernando Chien

In Red Dawn, a city in Washington state awakens to the surreal sight of foreign paratroopers dropping from the sky - shockingly, the U.S. has been invaded and their hometown is the initial target. Qui... read more read more...ckly and without warning, the citizens find themselves prisoners and their town under enemy occupation. Determined to fight back, a group of young patriots seek refuge in the surrounding woods, training and reorganizing themselves into a guerrilla group of fighters. Taking inspiration from their high school mascot, they call themselves the Wolverines, banding together to protect one another, liberate their town from its captors, and take back their freedom. -- (C) Official Site

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PG-13, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: No information available.

Release Date: November 21, 2012

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DVD Release Date: March 5, 2013

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Flixster Reviews (3,620)

  • aquateen2
    June 1, 2013
    aquateen2
    [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img]
  • LWOODS04
    April 14, 2013
    LWOODS04
    Red Dawn is another remake of a film made back in the day. I have only had the chance to see this version. I am not sure if it is similar or if it is of it's own story. Everyone seems to be in an agreement that the original is better than this one though so I will h... read moreave to watch it when I get the chance. But what I do know is that the film in itself could have been better. I liked some of the actors and most did a good job here. But some were a bit overboard on the dramatic part and made some of the scenes come off a bit cheesy. The action was good. I enjoyed most of those scenes. I really didn't care for the ending. I thought is was just a bit messy and it made the film feel unfinished. I would probably watch it again if I saw on T.V. But it's not something I would buy or rent again.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    March 25, 2013
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Welcome To the Home of the Brave

    Good movie! Overall, I really enjoyed this movie actually, despite what others say. I think many people were probably expecting something else and had high hopes and felt disappointed, but if you watch this movie without reading any reviews first... read more or criticism, you may be entertained!

    In the opening shots, there is a montage of news reports and politicians speeches about North Korea, interlaid with the opening credits and finally, the title of the movie itself appears on the screen.

    Spokane, Washington. There is a high school football game where Matt Eckert's (Josh Peck) team loses because he gets cocky and keeps trying to run the ball in, even though he should be making more passes as the quarterback, like the coach tells him to.

    After the game, he gets picked up by his girlfriend, Erica (Isabel Lucas), who's one of the cheerleaders in the school, and they go off to a party that night. At the party, the power suddenly goes out, but not knowing the circumstances of it, the teenagers continue to party, cheering loudly.

    Back at the Eckert house, Tom (Brett Cullen) tells his returned son Jed (Chris Hemsworth) that he can't find the extra mattress, to which Jed replies that he could simply sleep on the couch. Matt arrives home and asks his dad whether he saw the game, to which he proudly replies that the team is lucky to have him regardless of the outcome. Tom is a police officer within Spokane and he needs to leave in order to investigate the power outage. Matt walks up the porch, sees Jed, and walks into the house without saying a word to him.

    The next morning, Matt and Jed wake up to the rumbling sounds around them. Items around their house start to fall over, and they run outside to find out whats going on. They look up and see dozens of large aircraft with soldiers parachuting from them. One plane gets shot down by a ground-to-air missile and crashes into a nearby house.

    The brothers get into their pickup truck and drive off to find their dad, who meets them along the way as he was driving towards them as well to regroup. They follow him towards the direction of the town outskirts as a descending paratrooper fires at them, but the Eckerts manage to run him over. Tom tells his sons to drive away to their cabin in the mountains for safety as he stays behind to help the rest of the townspeople. Reluctant at first, they soon comply and speed off.

    We get our first detailed glimpses of the invading troops and realize they are North Koreans as they wear the symbol of the North Korean military. The Eckert brothers are pursued by other North Korean military vehicles that spot them as they try to save Erica before she is captured, but it is too late. Reversing direction, they manage to pick up a few more people, including schoolmates Robert (Josh Hutcherson) and Daryl (Connor Cruise), as some other escapees follow them in another car. They get to the cabin and try to compile as many supplies as they can. At night, they see a vehicle driving by, and Jed takes point with a rifle in case its a hostile. It turns out to be a non-military vehicle, but Pete (Steve Lenz) fires a wild shot at it with a handgun he found earlier, almost hitting Jed in the process. Jed orders him to hand the weapon over, but Pete refuses, so Jed takes it by force.

    The following morning, they find out Pete left with all their food, so they gather what they can and leave the cabin. They scout around, but hear some sounds and see that a North Korean officer named Captain Cho (Will Yun Lee) is at their cabin with some soldiers and uses Tom and Daryl's fathers as bait to draw them out from the woods. Pete had betrayed them and gave away their location. Although Daryl's father is more compliant, Tom tells his sons through the megaphone to kill the bastard, pointing at Cho, and is shot by him as the soldiers burn down the cabin.

    After a moment of mourning, Jed gives a speech about how this is their home, and the group decides to sow chaos among the invaders with guerrilla tactics, and learn how to operate the various weapons they could gather.

    On their first raid, Toni (Adrianne Palicki) is sent as bait. She approaches a checkpoint and suddenly turns to run away, prompting several soldiers to chase her around a corner where she immediately ducks as the rest of the group rise from their cover and shoot down the soldiers. They then strip all their weapons and gear to take with them back to their new makeshift base in the woods.

    Over the course of the next few days, they cause more chaos among the invaders by using stolen C4 and other explosives to blow up various military checkpoints, and outright shooting down other ground soldiers from rooftops with their captured small arms. They exclaim themselves to be the Wolverines, based on their school mascot, and the word spreads, causing others to rise up against their invaders.

    At one outdoor public gathering where North Korean officials are speaking to the remaining people of the town, along with collaborators (Americans who have chosen to work with the invaders to spare their own lives) and a few allied Chinese and Russian military personnel, the Wolverines are preparing to take them out with live fire and explosives. However, Matt sees Erica, who is a prisoner at this point, being transported away in a school bus and sets off the explosions early. He is able to free her, and they escape within the chaos, but one of the other Wolverines is gunned down.

    Jed is angry at Matt for disobeying and risking all their lives. Matt runs off, but after a few days, Jed goes to have a brotherly talk with Matt, where Matt accuses Jed of disappearing for six years when their mother died, leaving him and his father who too out his frustration by physically beating Matt. Jed admits he was wrong to do so since he was emotionally lost and needed to find himself, but that he needs him now, and they eventually reconcile and return to the group.

    Meanwhile in Spokane, a high-ranking North Korean military officer barges into Cho's office, furious at him for being unable to stop the Wolverines, but Cho says he has a plan.

    As the Wolverines rest up in their hideout, their shelter is suddenly destroyed when enemy jets bomb a large area of the woods. Two more are killed, and they go on the run. Only Matt, Jed, Toni, Erica, Robert, and Daryl are left. In the woods, they meet three American military personnel, led by Tanner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who coincidentally have been looking for the Wolverines.

    Over a campfire, they realize that both groups had independently come up with the conclusion that the briefcase that Cho always carries with him is crucial to the invaders and must be captured. They go ahead with a raid on the local police station which the enemy personnel within the district have utilized as their base and manage to take down many of the soldiers. As Daryl is running away, he is caught and stabbed by some enemy Russian associates, but manages to escape. Meanwhile, Jed fights Cho, and they eventually end up in his fathers office inside the station. Cho gets the upper hand as Jed ducks under his father's desk, but he pulls out a gun from a hidden compartment to shoot Cho in the legs, causing him to collapse. Jed then finishes off Cho. Matt manages to retrieve the dropped briefcase from a fallen soldier, and he rejoins Jed to make a run for it.

    They get away and hide out in a broken down house somewhere for shelter. Jed is proud of Matt, stating that he was never good at giving props to his brother, but that he deserved it this time. He gives his brother a beer, to which Matt replies it would be his first one, and they laugh. Jed then gets up to walk over to Toni, who is smiling at him in the hallway with another beer in hand, when he is suddenly shot and killed. The invaders had found their location and begin firing upon them. Matt yells for everyone to get out, and they manage to do so, getting into a car and speeding off.

    They stop briefly in the woods to rethink their situation, and figure out that the enemy soldiers were able to find them because of a tracking device that has been embedded in Daryl's side. During the earlier battle, the Russians had actually embedded a tracker into him and allowed him to escape so that he would lead them straight to the rest of the group. Knowing it can't be removed, Daryl decides to stay behind with only a rifle as the others drive off.

    The next scene shows other American military personnel and the four remaining Wolverines in a field as they load the briefcase onto a helicopter and prepare to take off. Tanner offers the surviving Wolverines the chance to go with them, away from the battle zone, but Matt refuses. The Wolverines decide to stay.

    The final scene shows Matt atop a car, giving the same speech his brother gave to them near the beginning to more individuals wanting to fight against the invaders. That night, they storm the detention center where the invaders are keeping prisoners. The Wolverines attack with heavily armed jeeps and vehicles as people start shouting the name, and the last shot shows many of the resistance running forward with an American flag fluttering in the wind among them.
  • phubbs1
    March 12, 2013
    phubbs1
    Ah the long awaited and eagerly anticipated remake of the now completely dated and historic original...yes I'm being sarcastic. Luckily 'Thor' is the main character here so that should be good right?...no wait, oh.

    Unfortunately remaking the original film was utterly pointless, ... read morecompletely and totally a waste of time, its as if a bunch of people just had nothing much to do and HAD to remake something. So they just thought 'yeah we'll just remake 'Red Dawn', we can blow lots of shit up in that'.

    Of course the film looks very nice, all the action is solid with fancy modern movie magic, big ass guns, natty outfits and what all modern films love doing, yep you guessed it...blowing the bollocks outta anything they can. Earth splintering explosions that will light up your TV screen, the powers that be think that somehow this makes everything OK, fiery death.

    So slick looks aside what else? well there is some emotion in here, not much, not as much actual believeable emotion as the original. The reason for that is because the acting is terrible and the scenes of character building, emotional grief, heartbreak, sacrifice, courage etc...have been cut right down in this new film. Like I say there is some emotion but nothing that will actually make you feel for the characters, the original had my eyes watering up in places I kid you not, this didn't come close, I kid you not.

    The whole story also seems very rushed, a quick montage of training and the youngsters are fully up to speed on most combat scenarios, fighting and weapons. Its then not long before they are taking out soldiers, vehicles, buildings etc...without blinking, amusing how trained military are so easily taken out by teenagers, but that was the same in the original too I guess.

    The other crucial point is they have actually changed some of the story, yes they actually used their imagination. This I can accept because it makes the film more interesting and not just a scene for scene copy. Thing is the odd changes are worse, one major scene in particular involving one team member is completely ruined because they altered the heavy emotional decision and sacrifice involved at that moment, its lost! gone! replaced with nothing. The teens meet more marines this time who come across as badass ('a marine and his rifle, the baddest shit kicker weapon in the world'. Seriously? yes it is this corny.) yet the teens run rings around them and virtually show them what to do! eh?. Also, where did they all get those nice clean camouflage outfits from for the final attack??.

    As I said in my review for the original, it was a film of its time, especially with the political climate at the time and all the cold war paranoia. This film doesn't really work now because the whole idea is unrealistic, politics aren't the same, everyone knows the US can't be invaded (?) and surely it might have worked better being set against the Taliban/Middle East?. Back in the day against Russia who knew, they were/are a big ass country with a big ass military power.

    The film is devoid of any real gut wrenching heartbreak or tension and you know what's gonna happen. All new changes to the story just don't work and lessen the effect hugely, especially for the ending, what was the point in making this really?. Hell even the films poster is uninspiring and drab and where the hell did that chopper come from right at the end ?!.
  • fb840810656
    February 25, 2013
    fb840810656
    "Red Dawn" has plenty of explosions, but the acting is garbage, and the plot is worse. The original was fun and original... the redux is a dud. Grade: D
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    February 23, 2013
    TheDudeLebowski65
    The original Red Dawn is a fun and entertaining popcorn flick that though by today's standards looks dated, but is still an engaging film that is a fine piece of 80's cheesy cinema. This remake is quite unnecessary, but is a decent little action flick that could have been much b... read moreetter. The Strength of this film lies in the performance of Chris Hemsworth, which actually elevates the somewhat lacking material. In the long run, the film is decent for what it is, but is quite forgettable as well. I enjoyed this film, but felt it was nowhere near as good as the original. I felt that this film had the potential of being a great remake, but it ends up being a slightly decent one, and forgettable as well. This is entertaining mindless action that should be viewed when you have nothing else better to do. I loved the original, but by today's standards it does look a little dated and it is interesting to see the story upgraded a bit. With that said watch the original instead and go in with an open mind for this remake. Is it as bad as what everyone says, no it is not, but it isn't great either. This pure popcorn entertainment, and definitely isn't a film to take seriously. Go into this none with an open mind; you can enjoy it purely as a guilty pleasure, which is what this movie sets out to do. Although very flawed, it is much better than films like A Good Day to Die Hard. View the original Red Dawn instead as it is far better than this one. As far as remakes are concerned, this isn't the best one, but it is far from the worst too.
  • fb100000145236770
    December 8, 2012
    fb100000145236770
    First thing first, it's been years since I have seen the original, and don't really remember much at all about it. I have it on my DVR and plan on revisiting it, but I watched this with pretty much nothing else to skew an opinion off of. Having said that, this is a bad movie. ... read moreIt's about the U.S. being invaded by Koreans, and a small group of kids called the Wolverines fight them off in a small Washington town. Chris Hemsworth plays an older brother who has experience serving and helps train the kids. He is the best part of the movie and the most believable(and he is Australian!). The invasion is cheesy and completely implausible, and then the fact that these emo kids would be taking this army out is nuts. I'm all for movies that are fantasy and unreal, but this is just ludicrous. Probably because the performances are pretty bad. These kids can act(well they've done good in other movies), but they just don't do a good job here. Josh Peck and Josh Hutcherson have been been in good movies, and probably thought this would be a movie to elevate them. Well, it's not. Actually this movie could probably hurt them, especially Peck who is just wrong for this movie. There is a little to like here, but overall the bad out weighs the good by a mile. I'd stay away from this if I were you. If you like it, more power to ya, but for me, I doubt I'll ever sit through this again.
  • ghostdog86
    December 6, 2012
    ghostdog86
    One of the worst movies of 2012. Period.






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  • superclerk25
    December 1, 2012
    superclerk25
    I liked this one just as much as I did the original. Of course, I don't hold the original up in high regards so that's not saying a whole lot. It's entertaining and that's all it's trying to be at the end of the day. The cast comes in and says their lines and shoots their guns. T... read morehere was only one that stood out and it wasn't for his talent.
  • drcamyo
    December 1, 2012
    drcamyo
    First off, why? I mean, at least the original had something to do with current events when it came out. This one just comes across as having no point. Second, it's boring AND dumb. But, at least I had a fun time mocking it. Overall- What did I expect? Just another lame remake.

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Critic Reviews

Mary F. Pols
November 22, 2012
Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine

It's Friday Night Lights territory, but without good writing or acting. Full Review

James Berardinelli
November 21, 2012
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Red Dawn suffers from a number of serious problems. The first, and most obvious, is that this is mini-series material compressed into a 95-minute movie. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
November 21, 2012
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Take that, screaming North Koreans with no agenda! Full Review

Liam Lacey
November 21, 2012
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Preposterously insincere ... Full Review

Drew Hunt
November 21, 2012
Drew Hunt, Chicago Reader

John Milius's 1984 cult classic about American teens battling a Soviet invasion has been reinvented as a Tea Party wet dream that offers a scathing (if completely illogical) indictment of the federal ... Full Review

Steven Rea
November 21, 2012
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Hobbled by a laughably bad script and a uniformly uncharismatic cast. Full Review

Tom Long
November 21, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

North Koreans? Falling from the sky? Seriously? Full Review

Bruce Demara
November 21, 2012
Bruce Demara, Toronto Star

Just really, really lame, right down to the Communist symbols that adorn the revised Stars and Stripes. Full Review

Tom Russo
November 21, 2012
Tom Russo, Boston Globe

An even odder war story than the bluntly provocative, Reagan-era original. Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
November 21, 2012
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

The more ludicrous a concept, the more crucial it is that the director embrace the bigger-than-life absurdity. But everything about this project feels small-time. Full Review

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    • Jed Eckert: Even the tiniest flea can drive a big dog crazy.
    • Jed Eckert: I am gonna fight. It's easier for me, because I've done it before. The rest of you are gonna have a tougher choice. I'm not gonna sell it, it's too ugly for that. These soldiers don't want to be here. For them this is some place, for us it's our home. When you fight in your backyard it makes just a little more sense, and hurts a little less.
    • Danny: [Everyone is sitting around a fire] What do you miss right now?
    • Robert: Pizza.
    • Daryl Jenkins: Playing Call of Duty.
    • Robert: Dude, we're living Call of Duty. And it sucks!
    • Col. Andy Tanner: We're looking for an insurgent group called the Wolverines. Have you heard of them?
    • Toni: Yes, we've heard of them. Are you here to help them out?
    • Col. Andy Tanner: Actually we're hoping that they can help us.
    • Jed Eckert: Our camp is at the base of this hill. We're the Wolverines by the way.
    • Col. Andy Tanner: I was afraid you'd say that.
    • Jed Eckert: Marines don't die. They go to hell and regroup.
    • Robert: Just relax, and squeeze.
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