Red Dawn is a remake of the 1984 classic movie about a group of high school kids who take up arms against an invading communist threat.

In the remake, the cast is mostly made up of young actors and actresses– some of which you may know. Chris Hemsworth was known for his role as Thor from the Avengers, Josh Peck, who despite being a nickelodeon star in his younger days, has become quite the actor. Josh Hutcherson is known for his role as Peeta in the Hunger Games, and Adrianne Palicki is known for her role on “Friday Night Lights.” Interestingly, the characters really seem to care about one another.

The script really does not do this movie justice. It works and is satisfying for the most part, but there are a number of unanswered questions,  For example, the Russians are involved in one way or another with the invasion but it’s never explained. It ends a bit abruptly before Josh Peck’s character actually gets the chance to step up and lead.

All in all, it’s a pro America movie. There are a few moments where I wanted to shout out “America!”– especially in one scene as the characters charge a football field at one point, their cars mounted with machine guns mowing down there enemies. This is good for an action movie, but some of the action shots of the characters fighting hand to hand are really shaky—which makes it hard to see what’s going on. This is usually to hide the fact that the actors have not been given choreography for the fights. Regardless, the cast steps up and proves that they can handle this type of movie.

Red Dawn probably would have done better coming out around Veterans Day or on the Fourth of July due to its content –but it’s still a fun movie. Red Dawn is not the best movie that has come out this year but it’s also far from the worst. If you’re looking for a good action film, it’s worth a watch.

3/5 stars