Red Dawn (2012)

Directed by Dan Bradley. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Josh Hutcherson, Connor Cruise, Isabel Lucas, Alyssa Diaz, Edwin Hodge, Julian Alcaraz, Bret Cullen, Kenneth Choi, Michael Beach, Will Yun Lee, Steven Lenz, Matt Gerald. [PG-13]

Contemporary remake of the 80s kiddies-vs.-Commies action pic once again finds America being invaded and a crew of desperate young lads and ladies forming a guerrilla fighting force, this time under the tutelage of Hemsworth’s Marine-on-leave. The setup is just as silly as before, with pedestrian performances from most of the cast doing little to inspire interest in these heroes-by-default, but it’s at least a better-looking film than the first, with intensity kicked up a notch in the action scenes. However, the filmmakers’ decision to treat the subject with such grim seriousness makes the jingoism less campy fun and the credibility even more negligible. What’s worse is how they can’t even deliver on a satisfying wrap-up, extending the movie with an inane “surprise” that results in a stupefying rabble-rousing speech from Peck (who sports a formidably punchable expression throughout the whole film) to close things out. Filming began three years before the film’s eventual release date; amusingly, the invading country was initially filmed as being China, but in post-production it was decided that it would be better to change the enemy to North Korea for the sake of box office potential!

25/100