In 2011, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (2011) introduced audiences across the globe to the God of Thunder himself, Thor Odinson. More importantly, Thor’s live-action debut put its star, Chris Hemsowrth, on the map and turned him into a superstar. 

Thor has its own fair share of shortcomings, but Chris Hemsworth wasn’t one of them. Different studios realized this, and quickly released films with Hemsworth in the lead. One such film was the 2012 remake of the controversial action classic, Red Dawn.

But even with Hemsworth’s star power and the fact that he had four major films in 2012, the Red Dawn remake was unanimously declared to be one of the worst films of its year. 

The only interesting thing about this remake is that, thanks to a technicality, it wasn’t the film that introduced audiences to Hemsworth. Red Dawn was actually Hemsworth’s first real leading role, and it was so bad that it would’ve tanked his career if it were released on time.

Red Dawn (2012) Was Technically Chris Hemsworth’s First Leading Role in a Film

The Film Was Delayed Due to Outside Circumstances

Hemsworth had been an actor ever since the 2000s began, but he only started starring in films in 2009. Before then, he got consistent work in TV shows and dramas. When he finally made it to the big screen, he started with small roles or playing second fiddle to an A-lister like Sean Bean in Ca$h.

 Hemsworth’s most notable role in a film before he became Thor was Capt. George Kirk, James T. Kirk’s father in the Star Trek reboot.

George Kirk’s only claim to fame in the new Star Trek trilogy was dying in the first film’s prologue. Shortly after, Hemsworth got his big break when he was cast as Jed Eckert in the new Red Dawn. Hemsworth’s character was originally played by Patrick Swayze in the original 1984 film.

Filming began in 2009, and wrapped up without any issues a year later. Red Dawn was originally set for a 2010 release, meaning it would’ve predated Thor by a year. 

However, the remake was struck by two major blows. First, the remakes’ original producers, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) went bankrupt in 2010.

MGM sold the remake to the smaller indie outfit FilmDistrict in 2011. Secondly, and around the same time that MGM’s financial troubles derailed most of its plans, the Chinese government publicly criticized the remake.

This was because the remake switched the Soviet Union’s invasion force of Russian, Cuban and Nicaraguan soldiers with China’s armed forces, the People’s Liberation Army.

Producers addressed this by ordering reshoots that replaced the Chinese soldiers with North Korean soldiers. Propaganda posters and the soldiers’ insignia were physically and digitally altered to accommodate this change.

The reshoots were most obvious in the awkward prologue and voiceovers, which hurriedly summarized how North Korea amassed an army large enough to invade America by air. This was all reportedly done to placate Chinese authorities in the hopes that they’d allow Red Dawn to be shown in China.

This remake wasn’t the first nor only American film that desperately and questionably tried to get in Chinese censors’ good graces in the name of capturing the country’s lucrative box office.

The overhauled Red Dawn was finally released in November 2012, a year after Thor, and a few months after The Avengers. Had it not been for the MCU and Hemsworth’s overnight stardom, the remake would’ve probably been perpetually stuck in limbo.

The same thing happened with Hemsworth’s other leading performance in an MGM film, The Cabin in the Woods.

 It was also set for a 2010 debut, but was affected by the studio’s bankruptcy. But unlike the meta-horror film that became one of the horror genre’s greatest hits in 2011, Red Dawn was both a domestic and international flop. To add insult to injury, the film wasn’t even permitted to show in China.

Red Dawn (2012) Squandered Chris Hemsworth’s Charisma & Talents

The Film Gave the Actor Nothing to Work With

None of this is to say that Jed is one of Hemsworth’s most underrated roles. On the contrary, Red Dawn is an irredeemably bad remake and a bad modern war film that wasted Hemsworth’s skills as an actor. The actor could only do so much with a flat and boring character who was less compelling than his 1984 counterpart.

In the original film, Jed was an ordinary teenager who was forced to become a hardened guerrilla fighter. There was a clear divide between the carefree kid that Jed used to be, and the violent and nihilistic rebel that the war turned him into.

But in the remake, Jed was a Marine who was home on leave when the invasion began. He was a fighter in the beginning, and he was a fighter in the end.

Instead of showing what war would do to a typical small-town resident, the remake’s Jed was a generic action hero. He only existed to kill the bad guys, avenge his father, toughen up sheltered teenagers, and recite patriotic platitudes.

Jed’s only flaw was that he cared so much for his younger brother, the reckless Matt, that he scolded him more than he should’ve.

Hemsworth is a versatile action star who’s also capable of showcasing different emotions and personalities, but Jed put none of the actor’s skills to good use.

He’d have to wait until Thor: Ragnarok to really break out of the action hero’s cold typecast he was stuck in for a while. It says a lot that the most interesting thing that Red Dawn did with Hemsworth was abruptly kill his character before the final firefight commenced.

Jed’s sudden death reinforced how he was Red Dawn’s most important character in a symbolic manner rather than a literal or personal one.

 Jed turned the Wolverines became an effective fighting force, and he was the reason why a ragtag bunch of teenagers became the Wolverines in the first place. Cementing this further was how the film ended with Matt taking Jed’s place.

That said, Jed’s symbolic purpose was both a blessing and a curse for the remake. Turning Jed into the rebellion’s catalyst instead of just making him one of the rebels was a genuinely intriguing change.

However, doing so also denied him of any personality and humanity. More importantly, Jed’s characterization (or lack thereof) was the symptom of a tiresome and insufferable trend.

Jed was far from the only boring military-adjacent action hero in the films of the 2010s. Red Dawn was made in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and the ensuing Global War on Terror.

American films, especially action films, of the time were especially jingoistic and propagandistic.

They capitalized on the zeitgeist’s zealous nationalism and fearmongering. Jed and others like him were blank slates who personified an idealized vision of the American army and the country’s fighting spirit, not actual characters.

Jed could easily be mistaken for other similarly empty professional soldiers like Chris Kyle in American Sniper, Roy Miller in The Green Zone, or literally any of the interchangeable soldiers in Black Hawk Down. Action heroes like Jed are still present, but they’re thankfully not as commonplace as they were a decade or so ago.

Red Dawn (2012) Failed in Just About Every Regard

The Film Could’ve Ended Chris Hemsworth’s Career Early

Despite its enduring legacy in popular culture, the original Red Dawn isn’t a particularly good film. It’s the kind of ridiculously cheesy, macho and patriotic B-grade action film that was the norm in the ’80s.

That said, what put it above the rest was its solid filmmaking and acting, sporadic moments of genuine drama, and sincere interest in depicting how war’s harsh realities would change a place as idyllic and familiar as small-town Colorado. The film even humanized its Russian and Cuban antagonists.

This was commendable considering how the decade’s other action films refused to acknowledge other countries’ basic humanities due to political differences.

For all its faults — most notably its fearful and distrustful worldview — the original Red Dawn couldn’t be faulted for its humanity and attempts at depth. The remake, on the other hand, had none of these. Against all odds, Red Dawn’s remake was somehow more jingoistic but less human and patriotic than the original.

The remake had no interest in examining its premise’s nuances, or its characters’ depths. All it wanted to do was pit noble all-American archetypes against a bunch of stereotypical enemies. To say that the film embodied the worst of American culture and life in the 2010s would be an understatement.

Jed perfectly encapsulated everything wrong about Red Dawn’s remake from a creative and ideological standpoint. He was an empty vessel for fervent nationalism and militarism, and nothing else.

The worst thing about Jed was that he the worst possible representation of Hemsworth as an actor. Jed lacked Hemsworth’s strengths, and showed how even a gifted actor like him struggled with such a vacant script and character.

If Jed was audiences’ first impression of Hemsworth instead of Thor, his acting career would’ve ended before it even began.

Red Dawn (2012) is now available to watch and own physically and digitally.