Red Dawn (2012)

 

Hollywood once again took a movie from the 80's and has repackaged it to try to appeal to a new generation. Red Dawn (2012) as a remake of the original from 1984 was originally slated for a fall 2010 release, but the financial woes that struck MGM shelved this release. Due to the financial issues they decide to go back and restructure the invading Army from what was originally China to that of North Korea, so as not to miss out on potential ticket sales in China. Having seen the original I went in not expecting them to be able to meet the feel of the original, but I was simply just expecting a movie that would be full of not only action and explosions but some fairly easy eon the eyes girls shooting guns and rocket propelled grenades. I ended up getting about what I expected in the Red Dawn remake.

 

Chris Hemsworth is our main actor in the role of Jed Eckert and he gave a decent performance. Hemsworth plays the brooding war veteran son who has returned home and is precisely what I expected from his role. Yet, even with the brooding portion his interactions with the others work very well as he seems to connect with everyone particularly Joshua Peck who plays his little brother Matt Eckert. Peck's performance was done very well, but I felt his character had a very whinny teenager feel throughout the movie. For me Peck's performance did not come close to the performance that Charlie sheen gave in the original as Matt Eckert. The relationship between the two brothers is really the only interaction throughout all the characters in which something substantial was given to the audience while all the other characters were fairly shallow and not much depth was brought to the characters. Of course to appease the males they give us Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas and Alyssa Diaz as a group of girls that are a part of the "Wolverines" group that fights back against the North Koreans. While we don't get the depth from there characters I have to admit it is pretty cool to see these easy on the eyes girls also shooting rocket propelled grenades. The rest of the supporting cast all give performances that are completely fine for an action movie. Will Yun Lee as Captain Cho our face of the North Korean antagonist gives a strong performance, but I would have loved if they would have given us more out of his character and development because I was intrigued by his character.

 

The story for Red Dawn (2012) really had an uphill battle to fight when comparing it to the original version. When the original Red Dawn came out the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union was at its ultimate height and I am sure everyone at that time figured a shoot out between the two powers was bound to happen eventually so the story of the Soviets invading played on a huge fear that most everyone probably had from time to time. So flash forward to the present of 2012 and while I am sure there are those that have various fears in regards to what wars the US could get involved in, but I do not think the fear meets anything that would have been felt during the Cold War era. While the story that they brought in the end did not blow me away, but I did not need it to. I do like the set up of the three areas of the quite middle class suburbia, a busy downtown district and the football field prison all helped to up the ante of what they were risking. Of course, with any action movie, the moviegoer needs to be willing to look at the story as while it may be a stretch or pretty far fetched at times it is all to help allow the action scenes be that more over the top. As part of the set up for the story I felt like the news clips at the start of the movie as part of the opening credit helped set everything up nicely. The aspect of the story that I really would have liked to see more depth to would have been not only understanding a lot of the characters more, but also getting a better understanding for North Korea's invasion would have helped build even more of that patriotism feel to the movie.

 

While the story was alright and the acting was serviceable for the roles, it was the action that gave this movie the fun feel to it. While in the original the action worked and was fun to see. The technology advances that have happened in the last 30 years made the explosions more explosive. I believe that with the action there had to have been  military personnel advising because there are definite military type infiltration movements used throughout the movie. This movie does not take long to jump into the action and after about the first 10 minutes of some set up of a character or two then once the North Koreans invade there is action and explosions that happen almost every other scene as there are not many lulls in the movie from that point on. The action sequences are well thought out with the explosions and the way "The Wolverines" use the guerrilla type warfare worked. Now I am not sure for sure but as I sat in my seat watching this film, I believe they did not use CGI for the movie, but used real explosions. This use of real explosions is a throwback to movie making of the past and while I enjoy CGI and it works in a lot of movies it is still nice to see real explosions from time to time.

 

Red Dawn (2012) ends up being a decent action movie that while it did not meet what the original Red Dawn was like it ends up working as an action movie. While I think had they made the movie a little longer they could have developed some of the characters and the story with a little more depth it felt like a very action oriented movie. The acting for Red Dawn was serviceable and while I liked Hemsworth's performance I was disappointed in the portrayal of Matt Eckert kind of coming off as the whinny teenager. I loved the use of real explosions for the action sequences and it is because of the action mainly that I am giving Red Dawn three buckets of popcorn out of five. While if you really enjoy action movies this may be worth seeing in the theater, this is one of those movies that the more casual movie fan can enjoy, but I would say wait and rent it.

 

-The Movie Man

Skyfall

 



I am definitely a fan of the 007 movies and I have really enjoyed the re-imagining of the whole Bond character that started with Casino Royale and Daniel Craig taking over the iconic role from Pierce Brosnan. Skyfall is the third installment with Craig as Bond and it is one that I am glad to see that it made it to theaters because with money issues from the film company it was a definite possibility that it would never be made. The character of Bond being flawed and with the whole movie having the gritty feel that has become the popular trend because of the realistic feel to real life is prevalent once again and only gives us a better understanding of the Bond character. For me being a Bond fan everything within the movie felt like it should be there and personally the story is simply yet complex at the same time.

Daniel Craig reprises the role of Bod for the third time and he continues the progression and depth of Bond that he started in Casino Royale. Craig plays the flawed Bond to perfection and I have really liked the way that through his emotions that he has humanized Bond and with his story being more of an origin story it helps to show why in other movies that Bond has been the way he has. Javier Bardem in the role of Silva our villain is one of the best not only Bond villains, but best villains in an action movie. Bardem steals the movie as he is a cold and calculating villain and each scene he is in he really takes everything above and beyond what I expected going in. The chemistry between Craig and Bardem is nearly perfect, as they worked so well off one another. the play between the two of them is something that I have never seen in a Bond film. The supporting cast particularly Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw gave strong performances. I think the new Q was a great addition to the case as he plays the genius character so well and he has a few good back and forth moments on screen with Bond. The only character that I felt was a little forced was that of Naomie Harris in the role of Eve. I felt that she was kind of just there from time to time, and that the reveal with her while nice was very forced.

The action for Skyfall was exactly what I would expect in a Bond movie. The action starts right off and I loved the chase sequence that takes place right from the get go through the streets and even rooftops of Istanbul on motorcycles that culminates on a great fight sequence on top of a train. And even with the chaoticness of the train Bond is still able to have a classic Bond moment. The action is really fast paced throughout as it never seem to ever completely stop, yet the balance between the story/plot moving forward and the action sequences is perfectly melded together as nothing seems to be overtly placed over anything else. The action sequence for the climax of the movie had a great buildup to it and while it ended ever so slightly abrupt with the fight sequence it was still exactly well thought out. To go along with the action sequences, one of my favorite aspects that took place throughout the movie was the way they paid homage throughout the movie to the Bond movies of the past. While one of the biggest aspects of this I will not reveal because in my humble opinion it was the coolest tribute to the Bond franchise. But it was really great to see the old school style introduction for the opening credits along with the use of "James Bond Will return" at the very end of the movie.

The story for Skyfall to me is the Bond film I have been waiting for after the reinvention with casino Royale. With Sam Mendes directing, Skyfall is propelled by a strong narrative purpose, Mendes values story and character over anything else, and in the end I felt like he gets the feel of Bond. I loved that Mendes respects the Bond franchise but also breaks new ground with the treatment of the story. The story tells a moving and intelligent story with really strong scenes to accompany what was written. Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan they had a great hand at balancing some humorous moments with dramatic ones without moving away from the story that was the heart of the film. Yet, the best part was they further enhanced the brilliance of delving into the vulnerability that Bond has and the way the audience gets to see a flawed heroic character. They have been able to take the same idea, but make the stakes higher and even more personal for Bond as our villain is former MI-6 who takes the fight not only directly at MI-6 but right at M and Bond as well. The soundtrack that Thomas Newman put together for Skyfall had a great pacing with it and I really enjoyed the parts of him taking the classic Bond theme in new and interesting ways and Adele's theme for the movie fit perfectly. The theme by Adele had that same old school Bond feel to it, which is something that has been missing in the past Bond films.

Skyfall is my favorite bond film that I have ever seen and really captured what I expect in a Bond film and it has really continued to step up the level of what I expect from future Bond movies. Daniel Craig is the embodiment of 007 and Javier Bardem as Silva is the perfect villain because he is in many ways the anti-Bond. I loved the action sequences and the train sequence is a perfect part of what makes a Bond film so entertaining. Sam Mendes direction was perfect and really controlled the pacing, story and action perfectly. While the movie is long it did not feel it was as long as it was. I am giving Skyfall four and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. Skyfall is a movie that is well worth seeing in the theaters and is one that movie buffs should make sure they see in the theater.

-The Movie Man