Red Dawn

Actors:  Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Luca, Conner Cruise, Will Yun Lee, Jeffery Dean Morgan
Rating:  7 out of 10, The original Red Dawn is still one of my favorite movies of all time so I was excited when I heard this was coming out. My daughter provided me with a litany of reasons not to see it because apparently its release has been delayed for years. While I love my daughter dearly, action flicks are not exactly in her wheel house, and come on – Red Dawn!. There was no way I was not going to see this movie.  It turned out alright, at least for ¾ of the movie. The only bad things about the movie were the ending, the music, and Josh Peck. I don’t remember seeing him in anything else but apparently he went to the same acting school as Ryan Gosling which must emphasize blank stares into the camera. If he is related in anyway to Gregory Peck then Atticus must be turning over in his grave. The music was one of the great things about the original- peaking with the Wolverine anthem which made the screaming of the name, “Wolverine” so memorable after a victory. Poor Josh Hutcherson was entrusted with this iconic moment and the lack of music killed it. That’s the bad stuff; the rest of the movie is a pretty good update on the old classic.   Chris Hemsworth is a bona fide star and dominates the movie as Jed Eckert. The females were also ably played led by Adrian Palicki. The best part of the entire movie is when Jeffrey Dean Morgan appears on screen. He was perfectly cast as the real soldier coming to aid the kids in their battle. The action scenes were well staged if a little hard to follow at times. All the original character names are preserved but they are taken in a new direction for the most part which was kind of cool. Definitely not a great movie but acceptable and reaffirming my caution in my daughter’s action movie credentials. (I’m going to pay for that!)
MVP:  Hemsworth as Jed Eckert, real physical presence as well as acting ability