This month marks the 40th anniversary of Red Dawn, a movie that surprised audiences by featuring a story focused on high school students who become freedom fighters after the Soviet Union launches an invasion of America. John Milius co-wrote and directed the film, which recounted the tale of the teens who called themselves the Wolverines. These unlikely soldiers were all that stood in the way of their hometown in Calumet, Colorado, from completely falling under Soviet control.
Red Dawn wasn’t a huge blockbuster in theaters, but it’s enjoyed a long afterlife both on cable and on streaming services. Contemporary critics savaged the film at the time of its release, but there has also been some critical reappraisal during the ensuing four decades. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film, we’re breaking down Red Dawn to determine whether it has withstood the test of time.
The cast is an incredible snapshot of the ’80s
Red Dawn is not brat pack movie, but it’s got a quintessential cast of young actors who made their name in the ’80s including Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Grey, and C. Thomas Howell. The supporting cast is also impressive, with memorable turns by Powers Boothe, Harry Dean Stanton, and Ron O’Neal.
The majority of the spotlight falls on Swayze and Sheen as Jed and Matt Eckert, a pair of teenage brothers who lead the Wolverines in guerilla strikes against the Soviet invaders. But the film also takes the time to establish some of the other members in their group, which makes the audience care when the tide of war doesn’t go in their favor.
Red Dawn captures the fears of the late-era Cold War
In retrospect, the idea that the Soviet Union and its allies would mount a full-scale invasion of the U.S. seems ludicrous. But keep in mind that during the Cold War, the fear that World War III could happen was something that still had a grip on the public consciousness. By the mid-’80s, a nuclear war wasn’t the primary fear, even though it remained a potential threat.
Red Dawn arrived at the right time to give American viewers an invasion story that many thought could never happen there. The movie cleverly draws from real-world invasions in Europe to depict Soviet tactics, and it even features some of the American residents turning on each other. That part seemed very realistic.
The movie doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war
Because the Wolverines have some initial success against the invaders, the kids-turned-warriors start to treat the war as if it’s a game. That comes back to haunt them later in the movie, when the battle for their home becomes all too real. We’re not going to spoil every twist in the film, but there are personal betrayals, deaths, and even moments when the Wolverines are pitted against each other.
Things get very dark as the story continues. And while some critics have dismissed Red Dawn as a jingoistic teenage Rambo fantasy, the outcome is anything but a fairy tale. This is a war story, and lots of people die in war.
It gives one of the invaders a semi-redemptive arc
One of the more impressive aspects of Red Dawn is that it didn’t turn all of the invaders into a monolith of evil. Ernesto Bella (Ron O’Neal), was given a small, but meaningful arc where he grew increasingly dissatisfied and disillusioned with both the war and the ideology behind it.
Ernesto is a Colonel with the Cuban Revolutionary Army, and he never fully turns against his Soviet masters. Yet, he does make a choice late in the film that gives him some measure of redemption.
The ending is both grim and hopeful
Again, we’re not going to spoil the specifics of the ending. But if you thought that Red Dawn would conclude with the Wolverines liberating their town from their Soviet invaders, then you’ll be sorely disappointed. If they had, that would have taken the fantasy too far, and it just wouldn’t have worked.
Instead, the ending of the film finishes the story of these characters and offers some hope for the survival of America even when the odds were against it.
The original Red Dawn still outshines the 2012 remake
Like almost every memorable movie from the ’80s, Red Dawn has a remake of its own. Aside from Chris Hemsworth, the 2012 reboot lacks the star power, gravitas, and even the cultural moment of the original film. Red Dawn worked because it could draw upon real fears that Americans had. The 2012 film couldn’t even commit to making China the invaders because the studio still wanted to release the movie in that market. So instead, the invaders were changed to the North Korean army.
The Red Dawn remake also has a less satisfying conclusion than the original film, and it oddly feels even more jingoistic because of that. It seems like the filmmakers behind 2012’s Red Dawn weren’t willing to take the same chances that the makers of the original film did. And that’s why the first Red Dawn still feels relevant 40 years later.
Watch Red Dawn on Max.
