The Husband and I caught a midnight showing of Red Dawn tonight. I should disclaim that I have not seen the original.
1. The fact that they are trying to sell Josh Peck as Chris Hemsworth’s brother was distracting to me. They look nothing alike. Yes, I know it is a movie, but they could have bothered to get an actor that at least had one feature in common with Chris…someone a little more Chris Pine-like (good call, Star Trek folks). Little birds report that this was an issue with the original as well.
2.Josh Hutcherson (Peeta of Hunger Games fame) must have thought Red Dawn seemed like a walk in the park.
3. The height differences between Chris Hemsworth and the rest of the cast was distracting too (yes, I’m probably even more easily distracted at midnight than normal, but there you have it). I felt better about my waundering mind when Jeffrey Dean Morgan showed up on set and I was able to verify that yes, indeed it did look like Hemsworth was supervising munchkins.
4. The script wasn’t half bad.
5. I could have done without the feel good brotherly moments, but I guess they were staying true to the original.
6. The movie was good – the 5.7 on imdb seems a bit harsh. I’d probably be more in the 7 range. If I hadn’t gone to see this movie at midnight, it would be a solid 7.5, but if I’m staying up like a teenager, the movie needs to deliver.
Tags: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Red Dawn