'Red Dawn'
(Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, Isabel Lucas, et al / PG-13 / 111 mins)
Overview: A group of high-school teenagers are put on the front lines when their country is invaded by hostile forces in this remake of John Milius' 1984 war adventure. Second unit director Dan Bradley (The Bourne Ultimatum, Spider-Man 3) makes his directorial debut with this MGM film, scripted by Red Eye's Carl Ellsworth. Josh Hutcherson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Isabel Lucas, Connor Cruise, and Edwin Hodge topline the cast.
Verdict: This is not your fathers Red Dawn! This is a lighter (in the character development arena) treatment of the same topic. More explosions, more fighting, more action. Kept true to some parts and then veered off in others.
On its own, it was a good movie and for those looking to be entertained, it does just that. If you're looking for a deep movie, keep looking. I would recommend it though and I saw lots of families in the theater who seemed to enjoy the movie as much as I did.
OK for younger kids as well -- not too bloody and of course they had to use the 1-time "F" word for the PG-13 rating, not necessary, but I guess it's like a that second helping of pumpkin pie. You don't have to do it, you shouldn't do it, but you do it anyway because you can.
'Red Dawn'