Just like Taps, I haven't seen Red Dawn since maybe the late 80's and just like Taps, I've seen Red Dawn more than I care to admit. It was after all in high rotation on HBO and Showtime back then. At the time, I thought the movie was good, if not great. This movie definitely has not aged well over the years and clearly is a product of the Reagan Era. The concept is actually a good one, having a bunch of kids rising up and fighting off the military might of the Russians and Cuba. The problem with this version is the execution of the film making as well as the script itself.

There isn't much meat on the bone when it comes to a fully realized story with engaging characters. Had they done a little more prep work on the story, it could have turned into something much better. The only thing that makes this movie watchable all these years later is the cast that includes Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Powers Boothe, Darren Dalton and Harry Dean Stanton. They weren't the best actors and they certainly weren't going to win any awards for this one. It's a nice trip down memory lane for me to see this movie all these years later. Worth a Rent and nothing more. As cheesy as some, well, most of the dialog is here, it did give us a couple of gems: "Avenge me!" and "Wolverines!".

I've been trying to think of Harry Dean Stanton's name since last night.

The ONLY thing I liked about this movie the first (and final) time I saw it was the... it wasn't the Grand Canyon, that national park where the Russians are hanging out and one's trying to prove that he can speak English, and then the camera switches around and we see the kids clinging to the side of the cliff... that was awesome.

And very nice tension as well, you're honestly worried the kids could fall or get discovered at any moment.  And those Russians are shown to be affable normal guys and you don't really want them to be gunned down either.