Movie Review – Red Dawn (1984)

Imagine one day you’re out and about, whether it’s at work, at school, out running errands, whatever.  It’s an otherwise normal day.

You glance into the sky and see soldiers parachuting to the ground, landing about a hundred yards away.  It doesn’t matter who the soldiers represent.  They could be Russians, Chinese, Hispanics, Eskimo warriors, giant walking boogers from Venus, etc.  The soldiers scramble to assemble weapons and then begin firing on anybody who approaches, killing people right there on the spot.  Chaos erupts and people flee for their life.

You and a few of your friends manage to escape to a safe area.  While hiding from the soldiers, you ask yourself what you’re going to do next.  Do you stay in hiding and wait out the conflict?  Do you keep running and try to find safety?  Or do you fight back, fighting not only for your country but for your friends and town as well?

That’s the dilemma facing a group of high school students moments after Soviet troops take over their town in 1984′s thriller, Red Dawn.  The teenagers are suddenly placed unfairly in the middle of a battlefield.  The Soviet troops seize their town and send many of the parents and “troublemakers” to an indoctrination camp.  As tensions escalate, the teens make the decision to take matters into their own hands, conducting guerrilla warfare against the enemy and fighting to save their town.

Red Dawn begins with text explaining the deterioration of conditions around the world and how the United States became an isolated country with the dissolving of NATO, the alliance of countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  The Warsaw Pact, on the other hand, was spreading aggressively and expanding through Central America.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

It’s an ordinary September morning for residents in the small town of Calumet, Colorado.  Jed Eckert (played by Patrick Swayze) drops his brother, Matt (played by Charlie Sheen), and friend off at school.  Jed heads off to work at the shop as everybody else heads to class.  While teaching the class about Genghis Khan, their history teacher, Mr. Teasdale, sees soldiers parachuting and landing outside the classroom.  He thinks they’re just ROTC cadets and way off course, but when the teacher tries to talk to the soldiers, they open fire and kill him.  They’re really Soviets.  The soldiers then fire upon the school, killing some students and sending others running for their life.  Cars are shot and most of the students are captured.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

Jed swings by in his pickup truck, and Matt and a few other guys (Robert, Danny, Daryl and Aardvark) jump in and make a getaway.  All around town the soldiers are firing at people, destroying structures, and setting up roadblocks.  Jed finds a way to a small sporting goods store owned by Robert’s father, and they grab as many camping supplies as possible.  Robert’s father sends them out to the mountains and tells the boys to stay out there as long as possible, not coming back to town no matter what they see or hear.  They try to drive out of town, but some Soviet troops have the road blocked and open fire on the guys.  Jed drives across a field as a U.S. Army helicopter flies by and destroys the Soviet blockade.  The guys are then able to make it up to the mountains and hide from the enemy troops.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

The guys are overwhelmed with the reality of the situation.  Soviets have invaded their town.  Their country was now at war.  Some of their friends were brutally shot and killed that very morning.  They had no idea if their parents and other friends were safe.  Jed Eckert becomes the leader and takes charge of the group.  He decides that they’ll stay in the mountains and use their hunting and camping skills to wait out the conflict.  They do so and spend the next month in the mountains, hunting deer, avoiding the enemy troops, and staying alive.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

It’s October when the guys decide to check out their town.  They use binoculars to observe, and while they see troop movements, things seem to be back to normal.  However, when they walk into town, things are far from over.  Soviet and Cuban troops have control of the town.  Propaganda signs are everywhere, pro-capitalistic books are being burned, and people are afraid to look at the soldiers or talk about certain subjects.  Jed and Matt learn that their father was, among other people, sent to a re-education camp at the drive-in movie theater.  They go there at night and see their father.  Their father (played by Harry Dean Stanton) urges his sons to stay safe and use their heads.  As the guys are leaving, Mr. Eckert yells for them to avenge his inevitable death.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

The guys visit with the Masons and learn that they’re in Occupied America.  The Masons inform Robert that his father was killed when the Soviets inquired about the firearms suddenly missing from his sporting goods store.  The Masons give the guys more supplies to help them live on the mountains.  Mr. Mason also hands over his most valuable asset, his two granddaughters, Toni (played by Jennifer Grey) and Erica (played by Lea Thompson).  Apparently some troops tried to have their way with the girls, and Mr. Mason fears greatly for their safety.  The gang rides on horseback back to the mountains along with the girls.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

One day some Soviets are out in the mountains, and the gang spots them visiting Arapaho National Park.  The soldiers pose for pictures and read about the history of the park on a sign.  One of the soldiers spots an arrow used by the gang of survivors and thinks it’s an Indian arrow.  He starts looking for more artifacts when he spots Toni below him on the mountain.  The soldiers try to grab the teenagers when one thing leads to another and shots are fired.  All three soldiers are killed, the last one being executed by Jed Eckert.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

The killing of the Soviet troops sparks outrage.  The KGB demands answers.  They talk to Mayor Bates (played by Lane Smith), but he doesn’t give any names.  Instead, the mayor strongly hints that the teenagers responsible for the killings are all related to people in town.  Groups of people are taken from the re-education camps and executed in a massive slaughter.  The teenagers are conducting surveillance and witness the execution of Mr. Eckert among other parents.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

The teenagers are crying about their loss when Jed Eckert yells at them to bottle their anger and stop crying.  It’s time to use their hunting skills to avenge their slain parents and friends.  The teenagers call themselves Wolverines, taking the name from their high school’s mascot.  It becomes their battle cry.

The first act of payback we see involves a Soviet tank stopping at a service station.  Toni approaches on her bicycle and the soldiers steal her lunch basket.  She runs away as the basket is taken inside the tank.  The basket was really a bomb, and it detonates, killing some soldiers.  The soldiers outside of the tank chase Toni into a field.  This is a trap as a few of the Wolverines suddenly pop up from camouflaged holes in the ground and quickly kill the Soviet soldiers.  The Wolverines then retreat before more soldiers can arrive.  This process is repeated as the Wolverines become insurgents, using guerrilla warfare to make hit-and-run attacks against small groups of soldiers.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

October becomes November and the war still wages.  There’s an aerial battle and Erica finds a pilot who ejected and is hiding in the woods.  He’s Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Tanner (played by Powers Boothe), an American F-15 Eagle pilot who was shot down over their town.  Lt. Col. Tanner is taken to the rest of the Wolverines where he gives them information about the war.

Lt. Col. Tanner explains that the Soviets used paratroopers as their first wave of the invasion force.  The aircraft were disguised and flew the same routes as commercial airliners, “hiding” with the normal traffic on air traffic control radars.  While that was taking place, terrorists from Central America were attacking critical military sites across the country.  The terrorists crossed the U.S./Mexico border illegally and were waiting in the country well in advance of the start of the war.  The Soviets then used nuclear weapons to take out a few critical sites in the U.S. as their invasion forces came down through Alaska and Canada and pushed south through the Great Plains, linking with the Cuban and Nicaraguan troops that were pouring north through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.  The battle lines have stabilized with the central part of America being occupied from the Rocky Mountains east to the Mississippi River.  Neither side is willing to use additional nuclear weapons, so it’s a conventional war now.  Tanner explains that Great Britain is an ally, but with the rest of Europe staying out of this war, Britain won’t last much longer against the Russians.  Some 600,000 Chinese are also on our side against the Soviets, but it’s noted that the Chinese used to have a billion people before the war began.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

Lt. Col. Tanner uses his military training and begins leading the Wolverines to strike against more critical targets.  The group conducts a night time raid and manages to destroy a Soviet air base, taking out a few aircraft as well.  The Soviet commanders become increasingly concerned of the Wolverines’ lethality as the insurgents conduct one successful raid after another, killing many Soviet troops and destroying military equipment as well.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

While visiting the front lines, the Wolverines become trapped in a tank battle as an American tank battles against two Soviet tanks.  The Wolverines attack and manage to destroy a Soviet tank with their RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades), but Lt. Col. Tanner and Aardvark are killed in the battle.  Tanner’s death hits Erica hard as she was finally coming out of her shell and bonding with him.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

Reality hits the Wolverines.  They are not invincible, and they cannot last forever battling the enemy troops.  One day they’re attacked by Soviet special forces, but the Wolverines see the attack coming and defeat the soldiers.  One of the Soviets is captured and held as a captive.  Matt Eckert examines the soldier’s direction finder and discovers that the instrument is pointing to somebody in their own group.  It’s Daryl.  He reveals that he was in town and his dad turned him in to the KGB.  Instead of killing him, the KGB made him swallow a tracking device so that soldiers could find and kill the Wolverines.  Overwhelmed with anger, the Wolverines take the captured soldier and Daryl to an open field.  Jed executes the soldier while Robert executes Daryl.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

One day while conducting more surveillance, the Wolverines see a supply truck accidentally drop some boxes on the road.  Toni checks it out and discovers that it’s food.  The Wolverines grab the food and take it to some nearby mountains to eat it.  It’s a trap.  Soviet attack helicopters arrive and attack the Wolverines.  Toni and Robert are both killed by the gunships, reducing the Wolverines to four people:  Jed and Matt Eckert along with Danny and Erica.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

Devastated and feeling like they’re at the end of the line, the group splits.  Danny and Erica make their way westward to Free America while Jed and Matt attack the Soviets’ headquarters, covering their escape.  Jed disguises himself as a Soviet soldier, and the two brothers unleash Hell against the Soviets, killing many soldiers and causing significant damage and chaos.  Both of the brothers are seriously wounded, and it’s assumed that they both die in a nearby park.

Red Dawn (1984) – (c) Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer Studios, Inc.

Danny and Erica make it to the safety of Free America.  Red Dawn ends with Erica doing a voice-over, telling us about the bravery of those who fought and sacrificed everything for their country.

So is Red Dawn any good?

For me, Red Dawn is a fantastic movie and a chilling look at what everyday life could be like in an occupied area during war.

I won’t get into technicalities, but the beginning stages of battle are believable with the Soviet aircraft disguising themselves as civilian airliners.  The same is true for the Hispanic soldiers who sneaked their way across the U.S./Mexico border and infiltrated the country.  That issue alone is a serious security situation today, and Red Dawn was making this problem known all the way back in 1984.

The question comes down to how teenagers would respond to their town suddenly under attack from enemy forces.

Again, Red Dawn presents us with a believable situation as the teenagers initially stay in the mountains and wait out the conflict.  These are teenagers who grew up hunting and being outdoors.  It’s not a question of if they can survive by themselves outdoors, but for how *long* they can do it without being caught by the enemy.  As we see, they seem to do fairly well for themselves during the first month.

After waiting for a month they try to see if the town is okay.  Despite seeing the soldiers and propaganda everywhere, and after seeing their father locked in a re-education camp and one step away from being executed with other people, the teenagers still stay in the mountains and out of the conflict.  These teenagers don’t start fighting the enemy soldiers until there’s a chance encounter with a few soldiers in a national forest, and the very lives of the teenagers is at stake.  It’s then that the Soviets retaliate and kill their parents which pushes the teenagers to fight back for revenge.

My only problem with Red Dawn is that the insurgents don’t really grow their numbers.  They capture plenty of weapons from fallen enemy soldiers.  They do a great job with hit-and-run attacks and guerrilla tactics.  They also free some of the prisoners before the Soviets execute them.  So why didn’t those freed people take up arms and join the Wolverines?  You would expect that at least a few of the parents would join the teenagers, even if it meant just staying in the mountains and helping take care of everybody.  But the Wolverines don’t grow their numbers.  When battles and attrition cause more casualties, the teenagers are at the end of their options.  It’s either flee or fight and make a last stand.

Red Dawn (1984) – movie trailer

Fans of 1980s movies would definitely enjoy the cast in Red Dawn.  This was the first major film for people like Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey.  Patrick Swayze became widely known in 1983′s The Outsiders, and Lea Thompson was beginning to make a namer for herself after being in Jaws 3-D and All the Right Moves (both are 1983 films).  Harry Dean Stanton gave the legendary line, “AVENGE ME!”

Fans of action movies would also enjoy Red Dawn.  The killings literally begin five minutes into the film.  The battle sequences are entertaining, and there are plenty of bullets and explosions along the way.  Expect to see lots of action involving everything from hunting rifles to bipod-mounted machine guns to AK-47s to grenades and RPGs.  Much of the Soviet’s munitions are used against them throughout the film.

The folks at South Park spoofed Red Dawn with their episode entitled “Grey Dawn.”  In “Grey Dawn,” the town’s senior citizens take up arms after their driver’s licenses are revoked.  They seize the town similar to how the Soviets did in Red Dawn, and all of the town’s parents are locked away in a camp.  Stan’s dad, Randy, mimics Mr. Eckert and yells for the boys to avenge him.  It’s up to Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny to find a way to stop the seniors and free their parents.

“Wolverines!”