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.
