One of the greatest movies from the eighties that really was never that great at all is Red Dawn. It features an invasion of the US by Soviet and Cuban forces who somehow manage to sneak into the country by way of Mexico. I know the border fence has some holes in it, but that’s kind of ridiculous… anyway, a group of high-schoolers take refuge in the mountains and begin a guerrilla campaign against the invaders. In between gun fights and random bits of patriotism the movie takes time for young love, school mascot pride, and urination in radiators.
It should come as no surprise that a remake is currently in production with a fresh crop of young faces including Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, and others. While most remakes are essentially unnecessary creations, this particular one is about to become even more superfluous.
A new trailer for the Australian film Tomorrow: When The War Began has appeared online, and it’s basically Red Dawn relocated to the outback. The film is based on the first in a bestselling series of novels by John Marsden that follow the adventures of a group of young adults dealing with a military invasion of Australia. They barely have time to pause and wonder “someone invaded Australia? Really?” before they’re forced to fight for their lives against the enemy and the elements. Check out the new trailer here.
It’s a short teaser, but it actually looks pretty good. This is director Stuart Beattie’s debut behind the camera, but his name should be recognizable to movie fans as the writer of numerous box-office hits and misses including Collateral, 30 Days of Night, Australia, all three Pirates of the Caribbean films, and several more. There are seven books in the “Tomorrow” series, so if the film does well enough it’s possible sequels will follow.
What do you think of the trailer? Do we still need the Red Dawn remake?
