Red Dawn (2012)
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A group of teenage guerrillas must defend their hometown from a North Korean invasion.
The story
In the aftermath of a financial crisis in the European Union and the weakening of NATO, collaborative dealings have occurred between a progressively militant North Korea and an ultranationalist Russia. The American mainland has become largely undefended from the increased deployment of U.S. troops abroad, and American infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks. U.S. Marine Jed Eckert is on home leave in Spokane, Washington, where he reunites with his father, brother, and friends. After the city suffers a blackout, Jed and his brother Matt witness North Korean paratroopers and transport aircraft invading the town. Their father tells them to escape to their cabin in the woods while he helps the townspeople.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following a financial crisis and the weakening of NATO, North Korea and Russia collaborate to invade the United States. U.S. Marine Jed Eckert and his brother Matt, along with friends, flee to a cabin in the woods during a North Korean invasion of Spokane, Washington. They are joined by several others, including Robert Kitner, Daryl Jenkins, Danny Jackson, and siblings Julie and Greg Goodyear. After a betrayal by a stranger named Pete and his buddy, and the execution of their father, the group decides to resist. Under Jed's training, they form a guerrilla group called the Wolverines, establishing a base in an abandoned mine. They stage attacks on soldiers and collaborators. During the conflict, Jed discovers Russian Spetsnaz working with the North Koreans. After several casualties, including Greg, Danny, and Julie, the group learns that a Russian-backed North Korean force used an EMP weapon to cripple the U.S. grid. They discover that Captain Cho has an EMP-resistant radiotelephone. The Wolverines help Marines infiltrate a police department to steal it, during which Jed kills Cho but Hodges is killed. The Wolverines regroup, but Jed is killed in an ambush by Russian Spetsnaz. Daryl stays behind to buy time for the others to reach a Marines' extraction point while the remaining Wolverines continue fighting under Matt's leadership.
- First release year
- 2012
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Dan Bradley
- Writers
- Carl Ellsworth · screenplay; Jeremy Passmore · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Chris Hemsworth; Josh Peck; Josh Hutcherson; Adrianne Palicki; Isabel Lucas; Connor Cruise; Jeffrey Dean Morgan
- Genres
- action; war
- Themes
- Resistance; Survival; Guerrilla Warfare
- Tone and mood
- Action-packed; Urgent; Serious
- Premise and plot tags
- Remake; War; Invasion; Techno-thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1984 film of the same name
- Reception
- The film received mostly negative reviews, grossing $51 million against its $65 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 15% · review count: 143; Metacritic · score: 31 · scale: 100 · review count: 33
- Awards and nominations
- Razzie Award · Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was shelved due to MGM's financial troubles.; The antagonists were changed from Chinese to North Korean to maintain access to the Chinese box office.; The film features propaganda pamphlets and posters with People's Liberation Army symbols.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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