Red Dawn (1984)

Review Date: April 29th, 2023

Hi everyone. This is my review for the very 1st PG-13 Movie ever made! Red Dawn (1984). It was very violent for a PG-13 film at the time. But the MPAA Rating System was different in 1984. The most recent change of the MPAA was around in 1996/1997. It’s time for the review.

CAST:

Patrick Swayze - Jed Eckert

C. Thomas Howell - Robert Morris

Lea Thompson - Erica Mason

Charlie Sheen - Matt Eckert

Darren Dalton - Daryl abates

Jennifer Grey - Toni Mason

Brad Savage - Danny

Doug Toby - Aardvark

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MOVIE REVIEW CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF GRAPHIC VIOLENCE FOR A PG-13 MOVIE. ALSO, SPOILERS AHEAD!!

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A map of the events described in the movie.

Blue: USA, Canada, UK, & China.

Red: Soviet Union, Cuba, & Nicaragua.

Green: Neutral Countries of Western Europe.

The arrows show the invasion routes.

The red dots show the cities that were destroyed by nuclear weapons which are Washington DC, Omaha, Kansas City, & Beijing.

In an alternate 1980s, the USA’s strategically isolated after NATO’s disbanded. At the same time, the Soviet Union & its Warsaw Pact allies expand aggressively. In addition, the Ukrainian wheat harvest fails, while a socialist coup d'état occurs in Mexico.

In September, in the town of Calumet, Colorado, a local high school teacher pauses upon seeing Soviet troops parachuting from An-12 transport aircraft. He walks outside to question them, & they open fire, killing the teacher & several students. Pandemonium follows as students flee amid heavy gunfire. Jed Eckert, who had dropped his brother Matt off at the high school, returns to pick up him & several of their friends, narrowly escaping the chaos.

In downtown Calumet, Cuban, Nicaraguan, & Soviet troops begin imposing order after a hasty occupation. Cuban Colonel Ernesto Bella instructs the KGB to go to the local sporting goods stores & obtain the records of the store's gun sales, the ATF Form 4473, to determine who owns firearms in Calumet & in the surrounding rural area.

Brothers Jed & Matt Eckert, along with their friends Robert Morris, Danny, Daryl Bates, & Arturo Aardvark Mondragon, flee into the wilderness after hastily equipping themselves at a gas station general store owned by Robert's dad. After several weeks in the forest, they learn that Jed & Matt's father is being held in a re-education camp at the town's drive-in movie theater. They visit the camp, speaking to Mr. Eckert through the fence, & learn that their mom’s dead; Mr. Eckert reminds them he had purposely raised them in a strenuous manner, ordering them to avenge him.

The kids visit the Masons, behind enemy lines in occupied America where they learn Robert's father was executed for aiding guerillas. The Masons ask Jed & Matt to take care of their granddaughters, Toni & Erica. After killing Soviet soldiers in the woods, the youths begin attacking the occupation forces, calling themselves…

Wolverines (after the school mascot)

The Soviets respond with reprisals, executing groups of civilians following every Wolverine attack. The fathers of Jed, Matt, & Aardvark are killed in 1 of these executions. Daryl's father, Mayor Bates, tries to save the lives of the captured citizens by collaborating. But with little success. The reprisal tactics don’t scare off the Wolverines.

The Wolverines meet American F-15 fighter pilot, Lt. Col. Andrew Tanner, who was shot down by a Soviet Red Air Force MiG-23 after shooting down a number of the other MiGs in the strike force, headed for Denver. He informs them of the current state of the war.

Tanner assists the Wolverines in organizing raids. This draws the attention of Soviet General Bratchenko, who orders further reprisals against the civilian population. The Wolverines' actions, & the reprisals lead to the high command on both sides of the war to know the name Wolverines, & the Soviet generals publicly state that the area may not be pacified for much longer. Shortly after, visiting the front line, Tanner & Aardvark are killed in the crossfire of a tank battle. It was sad to see them die though.

Daryl is caught by the KGB after his father informs them that he has come into town. After torturing him, the KGB force-feeds Daryl a tracking device, & release him to rejoin the guerrillas. A Spetsnaz unit is sent into the mountains carrying portable radio triangulation equipment. But are ambushed by the Wolverines. The group traces the source of the signal to Daryl, who confesses, pleading for mercy. He is executed by a hardened Robert after Jed executes a Spetsnaz operative as the others cannot kill their friend.

The remaining Wolverines are ambushed by Mi-24 helicopter gunships, & Toni & Robert are killed. Jed & Matt attack the Soviet headquarters in Calumet to distract the troops while Danny & Erica escape. The plan works. But both Jed & Matt are mortally wounded. Colonel Bella soon finds Jed carrying a wounded Matt, & holds him at gunpoint. Despite being enemies, Bella lets the boys go as he is unwilling to murder children.

The brothers reach a bench in the park, holding each other as they die. Meanwhile, Danny & Erica trek through the Rocky Mountain Wilderness, reaching the frontier of Free America. It was sad to see our main heroes die too.

In the closing scene, a plaque is seen with Partisan Rock in the background. It’s fenced off & a USA flag flies nearby implying that the ISA won the war. The plaque reads:

КОНЕЦ

Red Dawn (1984) is a great start of PG-13 Movies. But it was very violent at the time, because it was so early. However, Patrick Swayze & Jennifer Grey both appeared in Dirty Dancing (1987) 3 years later.

ОБЩИЙ ОБЗОР: 9/10

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