QuoteReplyTopic: RED DAWN...Redux (and Redundant!) Posted: November 27 2012 at 11:15am
ALTHOUGH the 1984 ORIGINAL RED DAWNWASN'T a BERRY GOOD MOVIE, IT WAS a MONEY-MAKER for ITS STUDIO, and IT GOT O.K. REVIEWS (Over 50% Positive @ R.T.).
BUT, GIVEN THAT the PREMISE IS ENTIRELY DEPENDENT on THERE BEING a MORTAL ENEMY with WHOM the U.S. TEEN-AGERS DO BATTLE (in 1984 IT WAS the RUSSKIES in CAHOOTS with the CUBANS) the BERRY IDEA of RE-MAKING THIS in a POST-COLD-WAR WORLD IS ARGUABLY IDIOTIC and POINTLESS.
WHEN THIS ILL-ADVISED REMAKE WAS in PRE-PRODUCTION in 2008, the "ENEMY" WERE the CHINESE COMMUNISTS (WHO HOLD an ENORMOUS PERCENTAGE of OUR NATIONAL DEBT). BUT THEN SOMEONE FIGURED OUT THAT IF THEY PORTRAYED the CHINESE PEOPLE in an UNFLATTERING WAY, the FILM MIGHT NEVER BE RELEASED in CHINA...and MILLIONS in REVENUE COULD BE LOST. SO THEY WENT in and DID "RESHOOTS," CHANGING the "ENEMY" to BE "NORTH KOREANS" (WHERE an AMERICAN MOVIE WOULD NEVER BE SHOWN ANYWAY).
THAT KIND of "CYA/HEDGING THEIR BETS" MENTALITY PERMEATES EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS REMAKE, MAKING WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN an IRRELEVANT MOVIE ANYWAY into a KIND of PUNCHLINE to a JOKE ABOUT HOLLYWOOD's INABILITY to RESIST DOING the SAME THING OVER and OVER and OVER and...
...and NOW IT's YOUR TURN to POST YOUR OWN THOUGHTS (and JOKES!) ABOUT ONE of 2012's TRULY WRETCHED REMAKES, RED DAWN (2008-2012)...
JUST for FUN, HERE's a LINK to CHECK OUT the FOTO FUNNY for THIS FILM...
and HERE's the LINK to SEE OUR FORUM INFO PAGE (with LYNX for REVIEWS, BOX OFFICE, CREDITS and CETERA) on THIS FILM...
ONE FINAL REMINDER -- REMEMBER: "BETTER DEAD THAN RED!"
I've heard some people say while the original Red Dawn was implausible, people still liked it because they felt for the characters. The remake, however, seems to have just sucked any hint of sympathy out of the idea, so people find this remake worse than the original.
Oh, and what is likelihood of Connor Cruise getting a Razzie nomination?
RESPONSE from Head RAZZberry: I don't think his role in the film is substantial enough to merit attention from us without giving the appearance of our "picking on" Cruise merely because of who his Dad is.
You are, of course, free to wage a Forum argument in favor of his being nominated (and to write him in on your own Nominating Ballot) but at this time, I am unready to endorse the idea...
Elizabeth Hartman and Judith Barsi are much more talented and beautiful than Scarlett Johansson and Chloe Grace Moretz. Fact.
If I close my eyes, I can still hear Harry Dean Stanton yelling "Avenge me!". It was so f*ck*ng funny!
R.T. (10%): "It lacks the original's topicality, but at least pays tribute by delivering the same short shrift to character development and general logic".
FINALLY! I've waited for 2 extra years through 3 delays to see Red Dawn [remake] make it as an Official RAZZIE contender! I knew from the moment they put this remake on the schedule in November of O-Ten that this would be one of ours.
Parker and Stone liked the original Red Dawn enough to make South Park Episode 710, "Grey Dawn," where the kids are fighting to keep deadly older drivers off the town's main roads and liberate the town from said elders while the elders fight to get their driver's licenses back (and Bill Stuart of the AARP later threatens to wipe out everyone born after 1938). But I'd say the chances are still nil of there being a Grey Dawn II.
While I do believe that the Chinese government and Chinese economics are a really bad influence on America, Kim Jong Il threatened to incinerate millions of children in Los Angeles back in December 2006 with his rumored nuclear missiles, so I think North Korea has a far uglier government than China. Besides, Kim Jong Un is somehow even crazier than Il. I think that's the main reason for changing the "enemy" from China to North Korea, and I think it was better reason than just getting the remake released in China.
As for what to nominate Red Dawn [remake] for, I'd be satisfied if this only got nominated for Worst Remake/Rip-Off (or Worst PSRR if we don't have enough secondary installments to split 'em into 2 categories).
RAZZIE Dirty Dozen: Battlefield Earth, F G Fingered, Pluto Nash, A Sound of Thunder, Alone in the Dark, Dirty Love, Rise Silver Srfr, Daddy Day Camp, IKWKM, The Love Guru, All About Steve, Airbender
I have an odd affection for the original Red Dawn. It's completely unbelievable, but it's aged a lot better than some of the other anti-Commie films from the '80s. (See Iron Eagle II for proof. Or better yet...don't).
Interesting comparison: the original Red Dawn was hit, but with some executive meddling as well. You know that hilariously cheesy, rah rah America end scene? That wasn't in the original script. In fact, the original script was apparently more like Lord Of The Flies than Rambo.
Joel Schumacher is history's greatest monster!-Robot Chicken https://twitter.com/SchumacherH8r Next-up: The Adventures Of Ford Fairlane
Count your blessings -- They could have starred Tony Orlando in Red Dawn, and we'd have had to hear that damn Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Teabag over and over again!
This movie is a tea-baggers wet dream, and deserves Worst Picture and Worst Remake/Ripoff nominations.
This must be a thrill a minute....50 North Korean commandos arriving on American shores, after rowing for weeks in a couple of rubber rafts, then launching their terrifying invasion of our great nation. Seriously? I wouldn't be that insecure about sending a bunch of teenagers out to fight them off. Heck, a preschool class would probably be sufficient. At least the original (bad as it was) had the benefit of a plausible enemy and some degree of credible context. This is too laughable to even believe.
While some folks may be quivering over Kim Jong Il's nuclear threats, they might be a little more credible if he could ever get one of his missiles more than ten feet off the ground before it blows itself to pieces!
Nine times out of ten, in art as in life, there is no truth to be discovered, only an error to be exposed.--H.L. Menken
Only 31 reviews are in, but this has managed only 1 positive review among all those -- placing it at an astonishingly crappy 3% on RT. A lot can change as the bulk of the reviews pour in later today, but I'll be surprised if this rises above 10%. Definitely one of ours!
Nine times out of ten, in art as in life, there is no truth to be discovered, only an error to be exposed.--H.L. Menken
Just watched this, and it's definitely Razzie-worthy.
Worst Picture: The character development is almost non-existent, so they try to "fill" this gap with excessive gunfire.
Worst Acting?: With such weak character development I found it difficult to pick any one cast member as being worthy of a nomination. Feel free to make suggestions.
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel: Definitely! If it deserves a nomination for Worst Picture, it also deserves a nod in this category.
Worst Director: Dan Bradley's "direction" deserves attention for this terrible remake. This entire picture is really messed up (and that's putting it lightly).
Worst Screenplay: Carl Ellsworth and Jeremy Passmore should shoulder much of the blame for the weak characters.
Directed by Michael Bay and M. Night Shyamalan comes a movie guaranteed to win Razzies.
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Topic: RED DAWN...Redux (and Redundant!)
