# Red Dawn Remake? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710 "2010-08-09T14:15:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/21 "2010-08-09T18:26:58Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Okay, this is how I’d do it: > > Forget about China, make it North Korea because Kim Jong-il is so off-his-nut bonkers, that you don’t need a plausible reason to invade for your plot premise. > > I’d also have them try to take over just a single state or township to hold as ransom. That way you don’t have to deal with the implausibility of having a enormous force to fight all of the U.S. You just need to sneak in a smaller invasion for to quietly take over a city, and then make “not wanting to kill civilians” the reason the the U.S. initially holds off on stomping the invaders. > > Then you could have humor as the invaders see _Team America: World Police_ for the first time. > > ETA: But as for the real project that Hollywood has been working on, all I can say is :rolleyes: That sounds more like a remake of _The Mouse That Roared_. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/22 "2010-08-09T18:38:04Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > It’s being filmed in Michigan. Wolverines! > > The Chinese are going to invade dressed in [Appalachian State](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Appalachian_State_vs._Michigan_football_game) uniforms. However, it’s Michigan posing as Eastern Washington–Spokane to be exact. Anybody who has any knowledge about the geography of both areas is going to have a good laugh at the remake. Incidentally, they initially did scout Spokane as a shooting location for the **Red Dawn** remake. However, for some reason, they opted to shoot around Pontiac, Michigan instead. I guess Spokane didn’t look run-down and economically depressed enough for them. Unfortunately, that means the mass of filmgoers who see this unnecessary remake of a cheesy piece of 80s Cold War paranoia are going leave the theater thinking Pontiac is Spokane. I don’t know whether to feel relieved, insulted, or both. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/23 "2010-08-09T19:19:35Z")
> [@Carl\_Corey](#): > > > [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > > > Okay, this is how I’d do it: > > > > Forget about China, make it North Korea because Kim Jong-il is so off-his-nut bonkers, that you don’t need a plausible reason to invade for your plot premise. > > > > I’d also have them try to take over just a single state or township to hold as ransom. That way you don’t have to deal with the implausibility of having a enormous force to fight all of the U.S. You just need to sneak in a smaller invasion for to quietly take over a city, and then make “not wanting to kill civilians” the reason the the U.S. initially holds off on stomping the invaders. > > > > Then you could have humor as the invaders see _Team America: World Police_ for the first time. > > > > ETA: But as for the real project that Hollywood has been working on, all I can say is :rolleyes: > > That sounds more like a remake of _The Mouse That Roared_. And just before I read that - that is exactly what I thought - they should do a remake of ‘The Mouse that Roared’ instead - ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/24 "2010-08-09T19:21:08Z")
> [@](#): > > It was hard enough to swallow the premise of Russia making a non-nuclear ground invasion of the U.S. Actually, the film mentions (when they pick up that downed F-15 pilot) that the Russians initially used tactical nukes on American missile silo sites and several cities (Washington D.C. and a few others, I believe) before they invaded. …I watched about half of the film last week on TV. ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/25 "2010-08-09T19:24:41Z")
A remake is definitely a film you won’t be seeing officially on the big screen in Shanghai. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/26 "2010-08-09T19:37:12Z")
If the Wolverines are anything like the original ones, they’re going to be using guerilla tactics against the Chinese. Ambushes, IEDs etc. That means the heroes of this movie are going to fighting the same way our real-life enemies are fighting us. In fact, the Wolverines were largely based on the Afghan mujahideen who were fighting Soviet occupation and are now fighting us. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/27 "2010-08-09T19:39:51Z")
I for one welcome our new (already own our asses, now they’re just making it official) Chinese overlords. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/28 "2010-08-09T19:42:36Z")
So what are they going to do about this [fantastic exchange](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIMH50X0F-4)? So who’s on our side? Six hundred million screaming Chinamen. Last I heard there were a billion screaming Chinamen. There were. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/29 "2010-08-09T22:09:51Z")
I don’t think it will be successful. I’m 33, and I just barely remember the Cold War, and people my age and a bit older _still_ don’t understand why Russia was ever seen as a real threat, because for most of our lives Russia has been a decaying superpower. Go ahead, talk to someone in their early to mid thirties and see how real the looming spector of the cold war was to them. It just wasn’t the same for us born after the Vietnam war. So how the hell do they plan to sell this concepts to people who don’t even have _that much_ of an idea of what it’s like to fear invasion from another country? They may as well remake it with aliens as the bad guy for all the relevance it’ll have to anyone under the age of 30: you know, the prime movie-going public. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/30 "2010-08-09T23:04:10Z")
If they had any real guts, they’d make RED CRESCENT RISING. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/31 "2010-08-09T23:50:22Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > If the Wolverines are anything like the original ones, they’re going to be using guerilla tactics against the Chinese. Ambushes, IEDs etc. That means the heroes of this movie are going to fighting the same way our real-life enemies are fighting us. In fact, the Wolverines were largely based on the Afghan mujahideen who were fighting Soviet occupation and are now fighting us. Of course, [the Chinese do know a thing or two about guerrilla warfare . . .](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Guerrilla_Warfare) ---
**Author:** ![ironbender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba8739/32.png) [@ironbender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ironbender)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/32 "2010-08-10T02:30:23Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I don’t think it will be successful. I’m 33, and I just barely remember the Cold War, and people my age and a bit older _still_ don’t understand why Russia was ever seen as a real threat, because for most of our lives Russia has been a decaying superpower. Go ahead, talk to someone in their early to mid thirties and see how real the looming spector of the cold war was to them. It just wasn’t the same for us born after the Vietnam war. > > So how the hell do they plan to sell this concepts to people who don’t even have _that much_ of an idea of what it’s like to fear invasion from another country? They may as well remake it with aliens as the bad guy for all the relevance it’ll have to anyone under the age of 30: you know, the prime movie-going public. Well, I’m 38 and I still remember my grade school had a fallout shelter. We would have nuclear bomb drills where we would hide under our desks or go to the shelter. So the cold war seemed very real to me. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/33 "2010-08-10T02:53:54Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > Ships actually, but it is irrelevant. There is no conceivable way that the Chinese could invade the US across the Pacific Ocean. The logistical capability does not exist. Sorry but I don’t get comments like this. Since when is logic needed for movies? Batman, Matrix, Escape fron NY, etc. I’d give it a try if they release it, I liked the original. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/34 "2010-08-10T04:24:24Z")
I just wanted to say, if you have never watched [this version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPNfWFbiCOQ), you have not seen Red Dawn. (the subtitles are unbelievably funny) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/35 "2010-08-10T06:15:21Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > > [@Ninja\_Lauren](#): > > > > I’ll admit it had some cheesy parts, but overall it’s one of my all time favorites. > > SOME cheesy parts?! It didn’t have any cheesy parts: it was pure CheezWhiz. Good for a laugh, a tub of popcorn and a look at Swayze, but no real dairy was involved in its making. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/36 "2010-08-10T16:16:05Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > > [@Grey](#): > > > > Ships actually, but it is irrelevant. There is no conceivable way that the Chinese could invade the US across the Pacific Ocean. The logistical capability does not exist. > > Sorry but I don’t get comments like this. Since when is logic needed for movies? Batman, Matrix, Escape fron NY, etc. I’d give it a try if they release it, I liked the original. Well I was addressing a poster, not the movie. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/37 "2010-08-10T16:26:08Z")
> [@ironbender](#): > > > [@elfkin477](#): > > > > I don’t think it will be successful. I’m 33, and I just barely remember the Cold War, and people my age and a bit older _still_ don’t understand why Russia was ever seen as a real threat, because for most of our lives Russia has been a decaying superpower. Go ahead, talk to someone in their early to mid thirties and see how real the looming spector of the cold war was to them. It just wasn’t the same for us born after the Vietnam war. > > > > So how the hell do they plan to sell this concepts to people who don’t even have _that much_ of an idea of what it’s like to fear invasion from another country? They may as well remake it with aliens as the bad guy for all the relevance it’ll have to anyone under the age of 30: you know, the prime movie-going public. > > Well, I’m 38 and I still remember my grade school had a fallout shelter. We would have nuclear bomb drills where we would hide under our desks or go to the shelter. So the cold war seemed very real to me. Which is why I said early to mid-thirties, not late 30s. You’re probably one of the youngest people who is old enough to really remember the Cold War the way our parents talked about it. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/38 "2010-08-10T17:38:30Z")
> [@DirkGntly](#): > > Also, there were genuine wheat shortages in Russia back when Red Dawn was made. This was the actual premise of the movie invasion: famine in Russia forced the Russians to attempt to sieze control of the mid-section of the country, where most of the food was produced. According to the movie, they had a multi-front effort and came up through Mexico, and also landed and re-staged in Alaska, coming in over Washington/Idaho, all in the effort to take the heartland. > I’m not certain how that could translate today, regardless of choice of aggressor country. I had a tacky thought for a permise for this movie which at the hands of a skillfull satirist could be extremely funny. Remember the scene in the original Red Dawn where the old man is hiding his granddaughters in the basement so the Soviet troops won’t rape them? Have the Chinese raiding for women. The war could spark when they try to get back some of the thousands of abandoned female “orphans” taken to the United States. With a lot of work this could be hysterical and every redneck’s new nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/39 "2010-08-10T23:29:31Z")
RD was one of those movies whose premise was so stupid that the film itself was a self-parody. The really funny thing was, the Cuban troops got transported thousands of miles into US territory, and had all kinds of stuff. The cheesy dialogue also contributed to the absurdity-I was laughing my head off halfway through. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710/40 "2010-08-10T23:51:41Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > RD was one of those movies whose premise was so stupid that the film itself was a self-parody. The really funny thing was, the Cuban troops got transported thousands of miles into US territory, and had all kinds of stuff. The cheesy dialogue also contributed to the absurdity-I was laughing my head off halfway through. I think it was more of an instance of Poe’s Law. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-dawn-remake/549710.md?page=3)