Film Bites: Thor And Peeta Save America From North Korean Invaders In RED DAWN

FilmDistrict has finally unveiled the first poster and trailer for the long-delayed reboot of the 80s “Kill all Commies!” cult classic RED DAWN!

The poster (pictured above) is your standard issue Photoshop quickie that, while not terribly exciting, does a decent job of conveying Thor, Peeta, the would-be Wonder Woman, the Decepticon chick who tried to rip Shia LaBeouf apart with her tongue in TRANSFORMERS 2, and the former fat kid from DRAKE AND JOSH are ready to kick some North Korean ass.

The trailer (included below) fares better with its wicked visuals (Washington state warzone!), blistering hot action (director Dan Bradley is the stunt coordinator behind the BOURNE and SPIDER-MAN films), decent story (the addition of a North Korean EMP superweapon should resolve might resolve some of the bigger plot issues that plagued the original DAWN), and zany sense of patriotism (the moment where Papa Eckert demands his boys “do what he would do” had me shouting “USA! USA! USA!”).

I guess the big thing to take away from both these bits of marketing is RED DAWN might not end up being the debacle most of us thought it was going to be. Maybe the four year delay (it was shot back in 2008 before MGM went bankrupt), massive post-production tinkering (the baddies were originally Chinese and were altered to North Koreans only after new distributor FilmDistrict realized China is responsible for billions of box office dollars), and newly minted stardom of two of the principal players (Chris Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson, both stars now thanks to THOR and THE HUNGER GAMES respectively, were relative unknowns when they shot this) have actually worked in this flick’s favor. If CABIN IN THE WOODS (another long-delayed Hemsworth joint) can overcome similar odds then maybe this can to.

PLOT SYNOPSIS: A city in Washington state awakens to the surreal sight of foreign paratroopers dropping from the sky – shockingly, the U.S. has been invaded and their hometown is the initial target. Quickly and without warning, the citizens find themselves prisoners and their town under enemy occupation. Determined to fight back, a group of young patriots seek refuge in the surrounding woods, training and reorganizing themselves into a guerilla group of fighters. Taking inspiration from their high school mascot, they call themselves the Wolverines, banding together to protect one another, liberate their town from its captors, and take back their freedom.