We’ve all seen those war movies or first-person shooter games where Americans are the good guys and some other people are bad. We boys enjoy shooting at Soviets, Nazis, zombie Nazis, etc. I didn’t think much of it. After all, those people were – historically – US enemies.

But now, the makers of Red Dawn decided to put in North Koreans. Sure, the North Koreans were enemies, but they are still enemies today, putting things in a much different perspective than in most other war movies or games.

The storyline Red Dawn is nearly identical to that of the game Homefront: in the near future, as the United States is plagued by corruption and fiscal crises, the world is only growing more restless and powerful. Somehow, North Korea has managed to advance its military (and economically back it up) to dominate the world alongside its Russian and Iranian allies. After an EMP missile wipes out the entire US electricity grid and scatters the military, the North Koreans take control over America. But Americans aren’t going without a fight, as a group of Californians band together into a militia called the Wolverines. The Wolverines set out to frustrate North Korean invaders in whatever way they can to protect their home.

To be honest, I’m Korean, so the natural assumption is that I have a bit of a bias against Red Dawn’s story line. After all, who would want to see his or her own people being shot at?

Well, I do, but for a different reason.

I could feel this remake of the 1984 original tried hard to be everything its predecessor was. Only, it didn’t work. The plot of the story is much too obvious. Maybe it was the too-revealing trailers, but the moment I saw the first scenes, I sat back and watched as the movie played out as I expected. The fact of the matter is, the plot may have been entertaining nearly thirty years ago, but now, it’s just cliché. We’re talking brotherly conflicts resolved, a fair maiden rescued by a hero, cowards become patriots, and more all put together in one. Need I say more?

Okay, I’ll try not to be too political, but North Koreans, really? Turns out, the producers thought of using China as the antagonist in the movie but chose North Korea instead out of fear of starting controversy and protest. Okay, so maybe that’s true, but a North Korean invasion is implausible and completely against, believe it or not, Korean history and culture. Just a brief lesson, the Koreans have never tried to conquer another country for thousands years and have prided themselves for being peaceful people (even North Korea today acts out of self-defense, not aggression). So I mean, an apocalyptic movie like this is only good when it’s somewhat believable. Even worse, practical infeasibility put with cultural insensitivity can only lead to a disastrous movie.

So besides its predictable and far-fetched storyline, many people I hear want to watch Red Dawn because of Chris Hemsworth, who plays main character Jed Eckert. I can hardly blame them. Not to mention, Josh Nicho – I mean, Josh Peck – plays Jed’s brother, Matt Eckert. Thor and Josh from Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh together? Plenty of appeal there.

Other notable actors and actresses are Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, and Isabel Lucas playing as Wolverines, and Will Yun Lee playing as the main North Korean leader. All the actors did a wonderful job, showing enough emotion for the audience to feel empathy. One issue I did have, however, was the butchered Korean. Simply put, it was really bad that I couldn’t help but to scowl. Maybe it was because the actors tried to use the North Korean accent, but trust me – my grandmother’s from the North – these people were having quite a bit of trouble.

Overall, Red Dawn left me leaving the theaters shaking my head. Unfortunately for the actors and actresses who all did a rather good job playing their roles convincingly, the story was just terrible. I wasn’t offended or anything, surprisingly, probably because I was pretty sure nobody is going to be more patriotic or have different feelings for Koreans.

Maybe that’s a good thing for me, but where’s the fun in that?