RED DAWN (Rated PG-13)

During the height of the Cold War, at a time when President Ronald Reagan identified the Soviet Union as the “evil empire,” director John Milius tapped into the 1980s zeitgeist with the original “Red Dawn.”

The 1984 film became a cult-classic that showcased young actors Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Grey, along with a slightly older Patrick Swayze.

The original premise of “Red Dawn” involved the Soviets invading the United States, followed by the resistance movement that arises when a group of heroic teenagers band together to repel the occupying force.

Fast forward to 2012, and the principal foe is now North Korea, launching a full-scale attack on the Pacific Northwest. You’d think that China would be the more likely invaders, but they are probably waiting to see if we’ll repay our national debt first.

The face of the enemy has changed, but the tactics employed by the guerrilla insurgency are pretty much the same. Once again, it’s up to a bunch of kids to be the frontline of freedom fighters.

A few minutes pass after the obligatory introduction of the primary teen characters, and “Red Dawn” kicks into high gear with a most unexpected aerial attack of North Korean paratroopers descending on Spokane, Wash.

A murderous, cruel Captain Cho (Will Yun Lee) moves his troops so quickly through town that barely a handful of teens make a getaway to the woods outside town, while most others are rounded up like concentration camp victims.

Jed (Chris Hemsworth), an Iraq War veteran, and Matt (Josh Peck), the high school quarterback, are brothers whose father, Tom Eckert (Brett Cullen), is a ranking police officer.

The Eckert family has the natural instinct to fight back. As such, Jed, as the result of his military training, becomes the de facto leader of a budding rebel group that includes mostly Matt’s high school pals.

As the quarterback of the high school football team, Matt enlists classmates and friends, including Robert (Josh Hutcherson), the tech geek, and Daryl (Connor Cruise), the mayor’s son.

Other members of the core group include Danny (Edwin Hodge), the star receiver and Matt’s best friend, and Toni (Adrianne Palicki), a pretty girl with a major crush on Jed. Meanwhile, Matt’s cheerleader girlfriend Erica (Isabel Lucas) is incarcerated in an internment camp.

As a battle-tested Marine on leave, Jed knows what it takes to live off the land while improvising effective insurgent attacks upon the unsuspecting North Koreans who may be growing complacent after the ease with which they conquered the Pacific Northwest.

Early on, the North Korean invaders prove themselves to be murderous villains, randomly killing civilians for the slightest infractions and generally terrorizing the population into subservience.

Bonding as a team, the rebel youth take on the moniker of “Wolverines,” in honor of the football squad. That Jed’s younger brother is a hothead results in some complications, considering that he’s fixated on liberating his girlfriend from a heavily guarded prison camp.

Nevertheless, the Wolverines gradually become more efficient in carrying out random acts of violence against the symbols of foreign occupation, going so far as to wipe out command posts, patrol units and fortified areas.

“Red Dawn” becomes the fantasy revenge picture it was intended to be. The idea of North Korea successfully invading America is far-fetched, to say the least, but the audience nonetheless delights in well-orchestrated action sequences that involve plenty of explosions and gunfights.

During the course of the insurgency, the young fighters are joined by a trio of grizzled retired Marines led by the spirited Tanner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), just in time for a major vital assault on the occupier’s main communications center.

“Red Dawn” is solid for its action, which mainly requires the insurgents to take their fight to the streets in a gripping attempt to outwit and overcome the intruders, causing major disruptions with nicely timed explosions and gunfire ambushes.

Notwithstanding the wickedness of the communist enemy, “Red Dawn” seems so implausible that if the lunatic Kim Jong-Il were still alive, even he would probably have a difficult time accepting the premise. But the little creep would be thrilled with the notion.

The bulk of “Red Dawn” is all about the action, thereby becoming the type of contemporary action thriller that is, simply put, satisfying popcorn fare.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

A gangster film that plays more like a Western, “Lawless” captured the brutality of a Prohibition-era battle between moonshiners and corrupt lawmen. Now it’s available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Inspired by the biographical novel “The Wettest County in the World,” the film version of the adventures of the Bondurant Brothers follows a quest for a piece of the American Dream, albeit an illegal one.

The three brothers (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke) fight to maintain their hold on the bootlegging business that is under attack from urban gangsters.

The youngest brother aspires to become Public Enemy No. 1, reaping the benefits that go along with the trappings of a dangerous criminal.

A mysterious woman named Maggie (Jessica Chastain) enters the picture, working in the family business and becoming the girlfriend to the oldest brother.

Living up (or is it down?) to its name, “Lawless” has plenty of brutal violence, with guns blazing aplenty. Special features include “The True Story of the Wettest County in the World.”

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.