A remake of the classic 1980's Red Scare film.
The North Korean military has invaded the United States, including the town of Spokane, Washington with the help of EMP weaponry. After seeing his father executed by Captain Cho (Will Yun Lee), Iraq veteran Jed Eckert (Chris Hemsworth) joins up with his younger brother Matt (Josh Peck) and several of his high school classmates to form the Wolverines, a guerrilla resistance group.
The film is notable for its Troubled Production. At first, the remake replaced the Soviet Union with the People's Republic of China. The Chinese villains were later replaced by North Koreans. Images had to be digitally altered and Chinese dialogue dubbed over to fit this change. The official reason for the change was that North Koreans would make more menacing villains, but most commentators believe that the change was to avoid angering the Chinese government, that limits the number of import products from the United States each year (and would give the slot to another film). Additionally, industry experts pointed out the obvious that even with distribution permission, Chinese audiences would be less inclined to watch a movie that clearly demonized their troops (in previous decades, Soviet cinema casting the American military as villains haven't made it to the US for similar reasons). The remake was originally meant to be released in 2010. However, due to financial problems at MGM, it seemed like the film's release would be delayed indefinitely. Ironically, the film's only hope seemed to be a loan from China. The remake finally picked up a distributor and was released in 2012.
Despite a striking number of parallels (both fictional and real life), no connection exists between this and the video game Homefront.
Tropes[]
- Big Bad: Captain Cho.
- Death by Adaption: Danny. Jed also dies far earlier here then in the original.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Jed is abruptly taken out by a sniper while drinking beer.
- Invaded States of America: The North Koreans use an EMP to disable America's defense systems to invade the west coast. Presumably South Korea is also invaded.
- Pre-Mortem One-Liner: When Jedi kills Captain Cho.
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You fucked with the wrong family.
—Jed Eckert
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- The Resistance: Most of the cast gather together to fight the Norks
- Spared by the Adaptation: Matt, Toni, Robert, and Colonel Tanner. Darryl’s death is never seen, but heavily implied.
- You Killed My Father: Captain Cho kills Sergeant Eckert. Jed pays him back for it.