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1984’s military action-drama Red Dawn was definitely ahead of its time. At the time of its theatrical release, the movie made headlines for being the first ever feature film to earn the new rating of PG-13. Not bad enough for R but certainly not tame enough for a PG rating this stemmed from previous films like Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom being too mature for the PG but not quite R material.
The movie told the fictional tale of WWIII breaking out on our own soil as worldwide issues and Cold War pressures boil over forcing Russia and Cuba to invade the United States putting foreign forces on our soil for the first time since the Revolutionary War.
Teenagers, forced to hide out in the forests and mountains of where they lived assemble themselves into a guerrilla warfare unit thus dubbing themselves The Wolverines which was the moniker of their High School football team. Taking matters into their own hands and distraught over losing loved ones and the life they knew, these brave kids attacked forces much greater then themselves with brutal and efficient guerrilla tactics that the enemy would not see coming,
Red Dawn starred a host of new Hollywood blood that would go on to have lucrative careers in the industry like the late, great Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C. Thomas Howell, Leah Thompson and Jennifer Grey. The late, great character actor Powers Boothe also starred as a grizzled pilot shot down behind enemy lines who would end up joining the tag tag unit.
John Milius, who was eventually shunned from Hollywood, helmed the movie with an unapologetic flair and this one definitely told the story it wanted to and was realistic in its execution. Well, as realistic as a band of teenagers kicking ass against Russian and Cuban forces could be.
This Action Fix hits today after a long hiatus with my favorite action sequence from the entire movie. There are numerous set pieces to be had here but this one is less than a minute and a half and isn’t even jam packed with bullets flying but it’s the most essential scene as this is the ambush scene where Swayze, Sheen and comrades emerge from underground bunkers to neutralize three enemy soldiers chasing Jennifer Grey’s character Toni.
This is the scene I rewound countless times upon viewing and it’s the most exciting in my eyes as it’s the first time the teens emerge as The Wolverines. Coupled with the amazing musical score, this scene always gave me goosebumps. It’s a simple scene but a profound one. And it kicks major ass. View it below!
The remake of Red Dawn with a pre MCU Chris Hemsworth was always entertaining I’m my mind for different reasons because it does it’s own thing and goes more bombastic as opposed to Milius’ more low key and dry approach. It was much maligned upon release and had issues during production but it still has its own tone and attitude. But it could never replace the original.
So with that I close this article the only way I can…..
WOLVERINES!!!!!!
