Movie Review: Red Dawn

Red Dawn

Red Dawn was made in 1984 when the Soviet Union and Communism represented what most Americans considered the greatest threat to US sovereignty and freedom. As a result, the movie is very much a reflection of the times not merely in its clothing and hair styles, but in its choice of the enemy as well. On the other hand, despite being more than two decades old and out of date in its designation of just who America's attackers are most likely to be, there are still some very real and valuable political lessons to be learned from the film. I have no idea why I didn't see the movie before now, but determined to watch it on video after the umpteenth recommendation from someone I knew who told me I'd enjoy it.

Red Dawn rises when the US is attacked by Communist forces from the Soviet Union and Cuba. We see what could fairly be called World War III from the limited but more personal perspective of the residents of a small Colorado town. Local high school students are mong the first to witness the local attack when they see invading paratroopers falling from the sky. When their teacher and some fellow students are shot, the remainder immediately understand that they're in danger. Only a few, though, have the presence of mind to escape.

Among the escapees is Jed Eckert (Patrick Swayze) and his brother Matt (Charlie Sheen). Along with a small group of like-minded friends, the boys grab what supplies they can and head for the mountains. While some might consider merely camping gear and food stores as priorities, these are rural kids who've grown up with at least some semblence of independence. As a result, they also grab firearms and plenty of ammo — all of which each of them knows full well how to use.

The boys establish a camp site well away from the town, and determine merely to survive until the war planes stop flying overhead. After a month, however, they're running out of food and the town remains thoroughly occupied by enemy forces. Jed decides some reconniassance is in order, and so he and a couple of the boys sneak back into town. When they do, however, they learn that things are even worse than they'd feared and that local citizen are suffering and dying under the enemy's bootheel rule. The boys subsequently turn their fear and grief into something far more powerful: a determination to take on the enemy and win.

The boys call themselves the "Wolverines" in honor both of the fierce animal and their high school's sports team name. With more courage than planning, the Wolverines start out lucky. But with experience and determination, their guerilla attacks begin to make the presence of the Wolverines not only known but feared among the enemy. Together, they risk everything even as some of the adults who remain in the town kowtow to the invaders' agenda.

Red Dawn is obviously the product of the past. But the message remains clear as a bell: freedom is worth whatever sacrifices need to be made, even when sometimes those sacrifices can be substantial. It's fun to see actors like Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson, and Charlie Sheen as such young kids, of course; but it's also heartening to see kids depicted as being so competent and so willing to do the right thing even in the face of grave danger and overwhelming odds.

The acting is fine, though the script seems trite to us in the present day; the production values were likely quite good in the early 1980's but seem a little flat in an era where we've seen battles in space appear to be utterly real. Interestingly — and most importantly — the things that hold up in Red Dawn are those which are most important: When freedom is threatened, real men (and women) will fight whatever the risk because freedom is worth that risk. And when men (and women) don't fight for freedom, subjugation is often far worse than the repercussions of fighting would have been.

If you enjoy pro-freedom books and movies and, like me, have delayed seeing Red Dawn, it's a very good rental choice not to mention a decent teaching opportunity for others who aren't so knowledgable as you. If you've seen it already, now might be a good time to do the same favor for some of your friends that mine did for me: Encourage them to take a look at this critically-lambasted movie that's stood up over time not because it's such a well made movie, but because it offers such a well made — and still valid — point. The movie itself gets two stars, but the point of the movie is worth a solid three.

POLITICAL NOTES: It's interesting that the military operation that resulted in the capture of Saddam Hussein was code-named Red Dawn. In fact, a couple of the locales involved in the search were designated Wolverine One and Wolverine Two. The someone in the military obviously had seen (and apparently liked) Red Dawn says something for the patriotic flavor of the movie. It's also lamentable that Red Dawn would likely not be made in today's political climate in that it shows high school boys with guns hunting both animals and humans — both successfully. There are times when pointing and shooting is entirely appropriate, though some would choose not to acknowledge the fact. Red Dawn illustrates the unquestionable value of firearms as well as the power wielded via determination.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Red Dawn is rated PG-13. By today's standards, however, the violence that earned the rating is tame. The story is what's important here, and as long as a child is old enough to grasp at least the basics of the lessons taught, I believe he's old enough to see the movie. In my opinion, that means those of about age 11 or so and up. It wouldn't hurt adults to see Red Dawn, either, if nothing else but to remind them that simply because one enemy has faded away doesn't mean there aren't others for whom we must be vigilant...