History Film / RedDawn2012

-->''After Mayor Bates tries to talk the boys into surrendering (via bullhorn while the kids hide in the nearby woods), Tom takes the bullhorn, seemingly about to do the same. He glances at the North Korean forces and gathers himself.''

-->''Mayor Bates looks at him in horror, as if realizing what's coming.''

* ActionGirl: Toni, Julie, and Erica.

* FaceHeelTurn: Pete

* YouKilledMyFather

* LighterAndSofter: Although it can still be pretty dark at times, the remake isn't nearly as bleak and depressing as the original. [[spoiler:To provide proper comparison, the ending of this film makes clear that the Wolverines' efforts did a huge change in the war and they are seen as big heroes, while the ending of the original establishes that they will only be vaguely remembered [[LittleHeroBigWar among many other people]] [[LaResistance that composed]] [[ChildSoldiers an ugly footnote]] in the history of World War Three and their sacrifice was ultimately worthless.]]

* InvadedStatesOfAmerica: Not that it makes any sense that a foreign country would be brave or stupid enough to attack the United States, let alone a dirt-poor one like North Korea. This movie is just war propaganda.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: As stated by the news, Kim Jong-Un. Though this is inaccurate; he is the grandson of the founder of North Korea, Kim il-Sung, and he inherited the throne by blood.

** Kim Jong-Un. While he doesn't appear anywhere in the movie (except for archive footage in some of the news reports during the opening credits), he's the leader of North Korea.

* {{Macguffin}}: The satellite communications system used by the Koreans, which is the main objective of the film's last raid.

* IAteWhat: [[MythologyGag The reindeer blood-drinking scene]] gets a humorous modification this way.

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: For the plot to even begin, it relies on the MST3KMantra to make the invasion of any amount of continental American territory by North Korean forces militarily possible. Even with their EMP weaponry and Chinese and Russian assistance, the logistics to make such a thing possible are simply well beyond feasibility for them, even if they managed to completely elude any American detection of their preparations. Not even China nor Russia could effectively invade the United States, since they'd have to cross the ocean to do so, and even then, the American mainland is too heavily defended (and citizens themselves own weapons) that it would be a massive failure that could ruin China and/or Russia militarily, economically, and morally. In addition to that, any foreign invasion of the United States would be met with a massive nuclear strike to destroy enemy command centers and war industry, as well as kill civilians to deprive the enemy of manpower.

* IdenticalLookingAsians: On a meta-level, this is why the filmmakers were able to go [[MoneyDearBoy "but we want the China money!"]] and completely re-do the movie in post-production, to change the Chinese bad guys, played by Chinese actors, to North Korean bad guys.

* BittersweetEnding: Most of the original Wolverines are dead, but the mission to recover the suitcase was a success and the Wolverines are gaining more public support and more recruits.

* JitterCam

* LighterAndSofter: Although it can still be pretty dark at times, the remake isn't nearly as bleak and depressing as the original.

The [[UsefulNotes/NorthKoreansWithNodongs North Korean military]] has invaded the city of Spokane, Washington with the help of EMP weaponry. After seeing his father executed by [[BigBad Captain Cho]] (Will Yun Lee), Iraq veteran Jed Eckert (Creator/ChrisHemsworth) joins up with his younger brother Matt (Creator/JoshPeck) and several of his high school classmates to form the Wolverines, a guerrilla resistance group.

The [[UsefulNotes/NorthKoreansWithNodongs North Korean military]] has invaded the town of Spokane, Washington with the help of EMP weaponry. After seeing his father executed by [[BigBad Captain Cho]] (Will Yun Lee), Iraq veteran Jed Eckert (Creator/ChrisHemsworth) joins up with his younger brother Matt (Creator/JoshPeck) and several of his high school classmates to form the Wolverines, a guerrilla resistance group.

* BigBad: Captain Cho, though Kim Jong-un is the GreaterScopeVillain.

* BrokenAesop:
** A meta-example. The film's message about standing up for your ideals and never giving in to foreign invaders rings rather hollow given that the filmmakers censored the identity of the villains in post-production to retain access to that [[MoneyDearBoy sweet Chinese box office cash.]]
** Jed openly compares the Wolverines to the insurgents he fought in Iraq, even saying at one point, [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters "Over there, we were the good guys. We enforced order. Here, we're the bad guys. We cause chaos."]] This comparison led some critics to wonder if the remake was intended as a StealthParody meant as propaganda against the Iraq War, though the filmmakers deny this.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Almost word-for-word, about Kim Jong-Un. Though it's inaccurate; he is the grandson of the founder of North Korea, Kim il-Sung, and he inherited the throne by blood.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: Almost word-for-word, about Kim Jong-Un.

!!This film has examples of: