Movies: Red Dawn

I have a confession to make: I've never seen "Red Dawn" until tonight. Surprised? Confused? Perhaps some perspective is needed.

For any gun nerd under 30, "Red Dawn" is pretty much required viewing. This is the ultimate, Shit Hits The Fan (SHTF) scenario. I'll let the trailer explain it better.



Yeah, it's basically a cheesy 80s action flick, but look at the cast! Patrick Swayze! Charlie Sheen! And don't forget Lea Thompson, who has probably spent most of her life trying to forget how she blew away Russian soldiers with an AK in this movie.

It's stupid, nonsensical fun, but it's still fairly entertaining. Director John Milius (of "Conan the Barbarian" fame) does a fine job of beautifully filming the Rockies and putting together coherent action. For gunnies, there's the fact that the invading army nefariously knows about 4473s and uses that to hunt down gun owners. Why they would go after people that they know can fight back is sort of a mystery, though.

Rating: 7/10, depending on how much you go for corny 80s stuff