Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Red Dawn vs Red Dawn


As you know, I'm a super huge movie junkie. I recently purchased ten movies and one mini series from our local video store. You can't blame me.... I got them for two bucks a piece! How can a guy turn down a deal like that?

Needless to say, I've seen a lot of movies in my time. I don't want to give away my age, but I'm starting to see a lot of remakes at this point. Footloose... 3:10 to Yuma... Planet of the Apes... Fright Night... and so on. It's actually a huge list if you start looking. 

One of the remakes that I've been waiting to see is Red Dawn. Originally released in 1984 with Patrick Swayze. The remake stars none other than Thor actor Chris Hemsworth. To bring the movie up to speed with current events, they made some changes to the invading forces. Instead of being invaded by the Soviet Union, Cuba, and Nicaraguan forces, the U.S. is invaded by North Korean forces, supported by the Russians. 

What surprised me is how much the new movie tells it's own story. It pays homage to the original in several ways, but overall it is very much its own film. Honestly, it was kind of nice. It allowed the movie to stand on its own. This might upset some folks who were looking for a special effects upgraded duplicate of the original. For me, I didn't mind. Just like I didn't mind the re-envisioned world of Star Trek according to J.J. Abrams.

The movie was for sure worth a $2.80 rental. I might have felt a little less enthusiasm had I gone to the theater to see it and paid $20.00 plus $20 for concessions. If I was a critic, (and I'm not, because I like real movies) I would give this one 3.5 starts out of five. (as a rental)

Do you have a favorite movie that has a remake? Do you have a movie that you would like to see redone? I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment. It's FREE.

-Red
Twitter @MortisG187

Email Jeff at author@jeffjake.com


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