2.12.12

Red Dawn, 4/5, would pay to watch again.

This movie was great. The only problem is that it left me wanting more. We are up to our noses in shitty entertainment, lawyer show after lawyer show, doctor show, crime show, cop show, zombie show, etc. Sure some of it is amazing, good acting, production quality, music, but the settings are all the same. The most recent general story setting has been the "Zombie" one, and I'm sure we are all tired of that. 


Red dawn is one of two films, (the other being something called "Red Dawn") that have the setting "Your home nation invaded, what do?" And I loved it. We have so many shows about preppers and how awesome our military is, we are ready for this setting.

*SPOILERS AHEAD - ALERT*

To really enjoy the film, you need to remember that the opening montage of the movie, the one that explains the state of the world that caused this new Red Dawn, does not explain everything. It says something along the lines of China becoming a superpower, and gathering regional allies, to include Russia and North Korea, (and possibly others). But thankfully it leaves very little answered.

If you know anything about China, Russia, and North Korea, you know that them working together in the capacity required for this movie, is highly unlikely. North Korea hates international aid, and China and Russia were set against each other to weaken the second world during the cold war. Being a highly unlikely alliance, only reinforced the setting.

When NK forces started to appear, with new tools, fancy tanks, and nourished soldiers, the first thought that came to my mind was not, “This is stupidly unlikely.” It was, “My god, what could have happened to make them do this?” What sort of dirt, blackmail, or coercion could have brought NK into this new Red Coalition? Wearing and using equipment that they obviously could not have made themselves. The thought lingered in my mind for some time as I enjoyed the combat scenes.

Later in the film, it became obvious. In an iconic line, (which I believe was lifted directly from the old film), “They don't want to be here,”
was the feeling conveyed. When the character spoke, he was talking about the normal, boots on ground grunt. When I heard it, I thought to myself, “Who DOES want to be here? How high up the chain of command does this go?” It became obvious, NK did not WANT to be here, they were just another pawn in China's game. They had shiny new toys, and in my mind every single one of them was emblazoned with “made in China.”

Looking for these deeper secrets made the film far more interesting, but unfortunately they made the setting far more interesting than the film. It was said that North Korea was only tasked with occupying the NW states of the USA, with other nations tasked with other sections of the US. That moment kind of killed it for me, up until then I was focused and following the Wolverines of Spokane, but those lines broke a seal and had me thinking... “Yeah, there is a WHOLE OTHER WORLD out there, WTF IS GOING ON THERE?!” Sure, the film was meant to follow the Wolverines, and by only showing their local view, convey the feeling of being cut off from the outside world.

That's not the crap I want though.
1 hour and 54 minutes is not enough time for this world.
I want some grade A+ series from this shit!


Think about how much could be covered! Instead of one lone resistance group, we could be presented with the whole smörgåsbord of American culture. The Wolverines In Spokane and the military families at Fort Lewis, fighting to hold off an enemy and disbelief;
the resistance in california, easily dominating the disarmed population of the inner city, but struggling with rural resistance; the humid death swamps of Louisiana, full of Vietnam Veterans waiting for revenge (bonus points if Vietnam is tasked with Louisiana and Mississippi); The East coast, bombed into submission because of our massive military presence there; and the Michigan Militia, who was actually in a training exercise for just such an event when it happened. The scope does not end there, there could be drama in other countries, Germany, Great Britain, shit, what is happening in the middle east?!

The potential does not even stop with the combat on the ground. The dialogue of the national leaders would be good too, and act as a calm, yet suspenseful juxtaposition that all dark war tales must have. You could have some state governors, struggling to gather the shreds of their national guard and state militias. The inept President of the United States that allowed this to happen, or did not do enough to prevent it, perhaps he just managed to pull out all US foreign troop deployments, and just weeks ago signed a bill that cut military spending to a fourth of it's previous amount. Not to be limited to our side of the pond, the President of Russia, North Korea, and whoever else, all struggling as their nations are practically the lap dogs of this new Chinese mastermind.

The ideas for epic moments practically write themselves.

Imagine the freedom fighter, who learns some dark secret that seems to justify this invasion.

Imagine the same guy, who learns that the inept president has forces set to knock out the disruptor field long enough for him to launch the nukes. In an attempt to stop the end of the world they need to break into an active nuclear silo to access the launch network, and do what they can to jam it. Or otherwise attack their own nation to prevent some greater evil.

Imagine deep within a bunker in China, an old man hunches over a war table, talking to his subordinates. Once everyone leaves a young and noble looking officer walks up to the old man, the Premier of China...
The conversation drags on about the planning, and in the heat of conversation the your officer says, “Would you have us call you Emperor? Would you have us kneel and revere you as a god?!”

To which the Premier replies, in his old gravely voice, as he plops into his chair, “Kneel.”

So yeah,
Red Dawn, 4/5, would pay to watch again.