Wolverines!

After gallivanting around the Everett area all night with my mom abusing their bodies in the name of commerce, my wife came home and took a nap this morning, so she wasn't in danger of falling asleep at the movie theater.

Small chance of that...there isn't much chance of ANYONE falling asleep while watching the Red Dawn remake. 

Now, the first thing you need to know, is that my wife and I consider the first Red Dawn to be a classic.  It is on that short list of movies, along with the likes of Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josie Wales, and Jaws that I can watch an unlimited amount of times.  I'm not saying it's as good of a movie as the others I listed, but if I find it in progress on TV, just write me off for the next few hours.

I'm not sure this version will have that lasting of an impact, but they didn't screw it up either.  It's a good young cast, and in fact, I think the cast is one reason it actually has seen the light of day after such a painful birth...most of these attractive young people are increasingly marketable, starting with Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth. 

Negatives first.  You can tell that this movie wasn't originally filmed with the North Koreans as the bad guys.  My wife pointed out early on how NONE of the actors look like they are Korean.  Dialogue is also an issue...some of the lines were very cliche AND cheesy...good job on the actors being able to deliver them with a straight face.

On the good side, it's a very enjoyable movie.  If you believe in the threat of EMP, then you can suspend your disbelief about the North Koreans being able to mount an airborne assault of the Pacific Northwest.  The gun handling and small unit tactics appeared to be fairly realistic(well, there was one Hollywood scene with a wisp of a lad shouldering a machine gun, and then thin attractive actresses humping around RPG's), complete with a montage.  All I can say is if Jed Eckert(a Marine home on leave) must be the best DI in the Corps. 

There were more than a few nods to the original, and the best part is that none of them felt forced.  Of course, there was also some updating, and a twist or two that weren't in the original.

If you liked the first one, and want to see a bunch of gunfire and explosions, it's certainly worth seeing.