Few today consider the original Red Dawn a serious movie. Any resonance its paranoid vision held of a United States overrun by the Cuban army for audiences of the Eighties long faded to kitsch. It survives mostly as a B classic, still a pleasant time waster for John Milius' battle scenes and very strong cast. 'Tomorrow, When the War Began', Australia's take on the theme featuring an unnamed North Korean armed force, doesn't benefit from its inspiration's rich resources. While at first glance it may seem unfair to hold Stuart Beattie - in what appears to be his directorial debut - responsible for not rising above a very silly script, he does share writing credits.
All starts well enough. A familiar group of mismatched small-town teens return from a weekend back country trip to find their homes abandoned and families interred in POW camps. After a few familiar adventures and misadventures they grasp the gravity of the situation, find themselves and decide on a course of action. The problem is everything in between. The situations and actions are so ridiculous it's a race to the tactical bottom between teens 'hiding' in hillside homes with bright camp lanterns shining through every window and an NK army that left infrared and drones in Pyongyang. The lack of preparation leaves teens free to travel open roads on bright sunny days, explore the abandoned town at night with high intensity flashlights, and move about almost unencumbered while a half million occupiers relentlessly stream onshore.
Even granted that the original novel was written for a teen audience, the distracting pop music track and NK ineptitude interlaced with chatting about boys, relationships and stuff in the middle of resistance strikes ultimately explodes all plausibility from the affair and with it any possibility of tension. If you're in the mood for the next best thing to a Disney remake of Red Dawn starring Miley Cirrus, this is your movie.
All starts well enough. A familiar group of mismatched small-town teens return from a weekend back country trip to find their homes abandoned and families interred in POW camps. After a few familiar adventures and misadventures they grasp the gravity of the situation, find themselves and decide on a course of action. The problem is everything in between. The situations and actions are so ridiculous it's a race to the tactical bottom between teens 'hiding' in hillside homes with bright camp lanterns shining through every window and an NK army that left infrared and drones in Pyongyang. The lack of preparation leaves teens free to travel open roads on bright sunny days, explore the abandoned town at night with high intensity flashlights, and move about almost unencumbered while a half million occupiers relentlessly stream onshore.
Even granted that the original novel was written for a teen audience, the distracting pop music track and NK ineptitude interlaced with chatting about boys, relationships and stuff in the middle of resistance strikes ultimately explodes all plausibility from the affair and with it any possibility of tension. If you're in the mood for the next best thing to a Disney remake of Red Dawn starring Miley Cirrus, this is your movie.