Poll: WOLVERIIIINES!!!

[tippy2k2]

So if you saw the title and wondered what the hell I'm talking about, this thread probably isn't for you

For those of you still here, I just saw the Red Dawn remake and loved it. I'm surprised the reviews have been so negative so far. I've seen reviews calling the movie and the characters shallow but then praise the original. These characters are no less shallow then the originals but maybe that's just me...

Pit them head to head and I think that the original might edge it slightly but that might be my rose-tinted glasses messing with my vision. Both were excellent action movies and some people crying foul about "Why would Russia/North Korea invade us?" just need to sit back and enjoy the damn film

The remake is not a shot-for-shot type of remake. It's more like the "Dawn of the Dead"-remake; it takes the basic premise of the original and then makes a completely new story out of it.

Anywho, did you see either the original or the remake? Do you plan on watching either of them? What did you think of whichever ones you've seen?

EDIT: Option 3 should be "Yes, I've seen them both. Remake was better" but rumor has it that it does not exist on my poll

Also, I guess a lot of people don't realize there is a remake. Well, there is one:

 

[Kolby Jack]

I JUST rented and watch the original last night because I haven't seen it before. I have yet to see the remake, but I'm not sure I will. It's FAR FAR FAR FAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR beyond my abilities to suspend my disbelief that North Korea could EVER invade the US. They couldn't even invade South Korea! Their military capabilities SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. They'd probably all sink and drown before they made it halfway across the pacific. I know it was originally supposed to be China invading, but even China doesn't have the capabilities to invade the US. The whole project was preposterous.

The original was a great movie though. Really showed the hell that is guerrilla warfare and how kids can't really handle it. Plus at least back in the 80's Russia actually had a decent military that actually could conceivably invade us. And even then, NATO had dissolved and they used nukes, so yea.

 

[tippy2k2]

snip

Not to give too much away (this is revealed in the first 45 minutes or the first two minutes if you're really paying attention to the news-real at the beginning) but it's not just North Korea invading in the new version. Where the film takes place (Spokane, Washington) is NK's area of attack but it is revealed that other areas in the US are being invaded by other countries in a treaty.

 

[Pinkamena]

Ah, yes. Wolverines. Fierce little buggers! Word of advice: No matter how fluffy they may seem, do not try to stuff them down your pants. Wolverines do not take kindly to that.

 

[sextus the crazy]

snip

Not to give too much away (this is revealed in the first 45 minutes or the first two minutes if you're really paying attention to the news-real at the beginning) but it's not just North Korea invading in the new version. Where the film takes place (Spokane, Washington) is NK's area of attack but it is revealed that other areas in the US are being invaded by other countries in a treaty.

Doesn't really make it more realistic. Ignoring the terrible economic effects of invading one of the worlds largest economies, no number of countries could conceivably invade the US. We've got a budget larger than the next 10 below us combined, plus a shit load of combat experience, and complete dominance of the seas and no realistic way of invading via land. All "someone invades america" stories are ridiciously in this time period.

 

[FalloutJack]

SNIP

The problem, you see, was that it was suppose to be CHINA, but Hollywood pussed out and changed it all so as not to offend. Pathetic, really.

Anyway, I've seen the original and I saw the trailer for the new movie and have decided that...yeah, they're two completely-different movies.

 

[FalloutJack]

SNIP

Hell, there's also the PEOPLE around here. Remember those happy-go-lucky gun control laws? OH WAIT! We have never actually restricted the guns! There was a case in my area, apparently, where a guy was trying to rob a house and uhhh...everyone around that spotted him brought out their guns and started shooting at him! There are so many guns floating around this country that you would, in fact, be fighting a war of attrition FOREVER.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Just saw the original last night, actually, and really liked it. Haven't seen the remake yet, but I haven't heard good things, but we'll see.

 

[tippy2k2]

snip

snip

The movie does a good job of actually explaining why the bad guys in question are able to successfully invade the way that they do in the remake (which is something the old version doesn't even try). I suppose the fact that it's in large part due to something that doesn't yet exist might not make you satisfied but the remake does get into how they pull it off. I suppose if you guys don't intend to go see it, I can throw in a spoiler that reveals why they are able to successfully gain a foothold in 'Merica.

However, if you do wish for that, it will have to wait until tomorrow for it is late and I came back from a party to two quotes in my inbox

 

[SecondPrize]

You've asked the question but failed to include an option for those who think the remake is better. I've not seen it but I have a sneaking suspicion the remake isn't about a bunch of children waging guerrilla warfare against a much superior force en route to the inevitable ending, which is what made Red Dawn interesting. The trailers at least, seemed to show kick-ass dudes kicking ass. That the Cuban(?) dude in charge was humanized was great too, and i'm going to assume the NK are paper-thin bad guys because they were able to so easily switch to a different nationality, and because I want the remake to be bad. Also, the first one has Swayze.

 

[klown]

And here I thought this was a thread about Michigan taking on Ohio State tomorrow. You know, ruining their undefeated record and being awesome like we should be.

As a person who hasn't seen either of the movies, is there a group or something called Wolverines? And if so, is it an homage to Michigan?

 

[tippy2k2]

snip

According to my edit (and what I typed in earlier), it should be option #3. If it is missing, it's likely the Kross sacrificed it to keep the Escapist hamsters running.

snip

The answer is...

Spoiler: This will reveal how the bad guys manage what they do in the movie and will be a big spoiler

...they don't. This is a big reason why the movie's location was moved from Colorado to Washington. The invasion here gets stopped dead in it's tracks on the coasts of the United States so they do not have to deal with the normal supply line issues (they don't get to go anywhere). Along with that, the Korean troops through the movie are not here for very long. At the beginning of the movie, a high school football game is happening (so the movie takes place in the fall). It never becomes winter in the movie so only a few months at most have passed, something an army should

As to how they got the beachhead, in the beginning of the movie, they deploy a weaponized EMP weapon in order to knock out air, sea, and tank support. The Korean's have a magical maguffin (the thing that doesn't exist to my knowledge in today's world) that allows their items to not get fried (and this is maguffin is what becomes the focal point of the movie as special forces team with The Wolverines to try to capture this magical item to get the US air/vehicle support once again).

As to the "weapon behind every blade of grass" thing: This is a blitzkreig invasion. The vast majority of people are not prepared for this and there are tanks, air-support, Humvees, and about five soldiers per block para-trooping in. There are pockets of fighting at the beginning but they are easily cut-down by the over-whelming force of the invading army. This is also set during a lot of unrest so chunks of the population actually join the invaders as "sympathizers" to help (a big plot point in the movie involves the Wolverines attacking their own friends/family who join the invading force).

Lastly (wasn't in your original post but in that big "review" of the original) but the leader of the Wolverines was a marine who actually teaches the others how to shoot. He actually ends up doing most of the fighting as the others are there but are clearly panicking and most screw up their firing assignment (this is why they rely on guerrilla tactics and not a straight up fight). It does get a bit ridiculous at the end during the last battle scene as they start executing perfectly but with time and experience, that isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Is it still a terribly unlikely scenario? Yeah, probably. However, I feel that the movie gives you enough to show why this is at least plausible for this to occur. Will this convince you to go see it? Probably not (especially since I just ruined a lot of it but the movie does a fantastic job of at least demonstrating the big plot hole that the old version just kind of ignored.

 

[Alssadar]

I know I've been doing too much college prep when this is the first thing that pops into my head.

Also, I haven't seen any of the movies.

 

[pointless vandalism]

I grew up in Michigan, went to Michigan state university...All I have to say is FUCK U OF M. Buy more Target U of M sweatshirts you non alumni douches.

OP Original was better. Much more contextual for the time, even though both scenarios are extremely unlikely.

 

[teebeeohh]

SNIP

The problem, you see, was that it was suppose to be CHINA, but Hollywood pussed out and changed it all so as not to offend. Pathetic, really.

Anyway, I've seen the original and I saw the trailer for the new movie and have decided that...yeah, they're two completely-different movies.

i don't think anybody cares if the Chinese are offended, what they care about is china being a huge market for movies and every movie in china having to go through the censorship board.

i tried watching the original but the idea of a land invasion in the US is just stupid, way too big a country, way too different terrain, terrible supply situation(unless you somehow can get supplies out of canada/mexico) and you would have to constantly fight the civilian population who have lots of guns.

on the other hand the us showed us how to deal with a country you don't want to invade because you fear dealing with the population, so yeah nuclear holocaust?

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I didn't even know there WAS a remake. I've seen the original though and it's a very strange film.

 

[Lunar Templar]

I know I've been doing too much college prep when this is the first thing that pops into my head.

Also, I haven't seen any of the movies.

this more or less, i came expect a thread about College Football, not movies i've never seen, nor have any desire to :/

 

[WanderingFool]

So if you saw the title and wondered what the hell I'm talking about, this thread probably isn't for you

For those of you still here, I just saw the Red Dawn remake and loved it. I'm surprised the reviews have been so negative so far. I've seen reviews calling the movie and the characters shallow but then praise the original. These characters are no less shallow then the originals but maybe that's just me...

Pit them head to head and I think that the original might edge it slightly but that might be my rose-tinted glasses messing with my vision. Both were excellent action movies and some people crying foul about "Why would Russia/North Korea invade us?" just need to sit back and enjoy the damn film

The remake is not a shot-for-shot type of remake. It's more like the "Dawn of the Dead"-remake; it takes the basic premise of the original and then makes a completely new story out of it.

Anywho, did you see either the original or the remake? Do you plan on watching either of them? What did you think of whichever ones you've seen?

EDIT: Option 3 should be "Yes, I've seen them both. Remake was better" but rumor has it that it does not exist on my poll

Also, I guess a lot of people don't realize there is a remake. Well, there is one:

To be honest, I thought the first Red Dawn was crap... but than again I saw it well after the Cold War ended, so I didnt have the same mind set as people watching it then.

Im not sure what to make of the Remake... But I suppose I may enjoy it somewhat, as I thought Homefront was not all that bad...

 

[Reaper195]

I saw the original one a couple of years ago. It was okay, but a bit too old. TO be honest though, I'd actually they'd have made a movie similar to Red Dawn, but different enough to be called 'original' (Fuckin' hard for Hollywood to do, I know). Still, it looks like a cool action movie (Come on, the original was not that deep "In the early days of World War III, guerrillas - mostly children - placed the names of their lost upon this rock." Mostly children? Fuckin'....NO!). But then again, I already got the best 'country invades another country, kids fight back' film a few years ago. Tomorrow, When the War Began. It may be Australian, but it's damn good. Even fantastic, for such a tiny ass budget.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

The Original was released back during the Cold War, where the theoretical World War 3 was a much greater possibility in the public consciousness than it is now. It also tried to explain itself better with just how the US came to be invaded in the first place. Nukes were fired, wiping out much of the United States' armed forces along the coastline, before a terrestrial invasion was launched in order to seize control of the mainland.

It's not a perfect film, but in terms of context, it was a lot more believable than this remake.