versus
It was a much closer call than expected. So, we must turn to a systematic comparison of the aspects of the movies:
| Red Dawn 1.0 | Red Dawn 2.0 | Winner | |
| Premise | Domino Theory Run Amok | Um, huh? | 1.0 |
| Pre-History Scroll | Yellow Text | Current history (Obama, Biden, HRClinton) plus | 2.0 |
| Intentional Comedy | Not Much | Some | 2.0 |
| Unintentional Comedy | Max | Mostly NK Sub for China | 1.0 |
| Romance | None, although Lea crushes on Powers Booth | Younger bro obsesses about gf, Thor almost kisses Tyra | 2.0 |
| Right Wing Fantasy | Pry Gun From Cold Dead Hands, Bad Guys Use Registration Lists | US crushed by Electromagnetic Pulse | Tie |
| Heartland vs Coasts? | Soviets/Cubans invade heartland; US holds coasts | North Koreans take coasts; Free America in the heartland | 1.0 |
| Europe | Super-weenies | Absent | 1.0 |
| China | Ally! | Absent! | A wash |
| Nukes | Soviets use them | No one nukes | Um…. |
| Leader | Dalton | Thor | Too close to call |
| Strategies and Tactics | Innovate | Immitate 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Biggest Failure | Um, helos? Ok, just listen | Brother chases lame girl, messes up ambush | Oy |
| Bad Guys | Differentiated: Semi-sympatheic Cuban vs rest | All Are the Same | 1.0 |
| Drinking Deer Blood | Serious | Prank | 2.0 |
| Effect of Deer Blood | Howell becomes sociopath | Josh H becomes braver | 1.0 |
| Dead Dad | Harry Dean Stanton, quite crazy | The Other from Lost (Brett Cullen) | 1.0, No contest |
| Brothers | True love, uncomplicated | Rivalry then respect | 2.0 |
| Brotherly Acting | Awful (Charlie Sheen is awful in this movie) | Awful (Josh Peck is going to be a star?!) | Tie |
| Lea Thompson | Yes | No | 1.0 |
| Badass Females | LT , Jennifer Grey with Big Machine Guns, many times | Adrienne Palicki, Isabel Lucas with RPGs once | 1.0 |
| Ending | Only Lea and token boy live, Lea narrates conclusion | Most live, whiny brother makes same speech as Thor to recruit | 1.0 (plagiarism is not ok, even for brothers) |
| Entertainment value (counts 2x) | Nostalgia | Better movie (dialogue, characterization, acting) | 2.0 |
So RD 1.0 wins despite RD 2.0 having more entertainment value. That makes no sense, but neither did either movie. It was pretty damn close, but the power of Lea turns the tide. A friend on facebook asked me which I would recommend, so I would suggest The World's End.
Actually, I would have to say 1.0 because of a few key factors--we get to see some actors when they are very young and yet not Outsiders; the Cold War context makes this heaps of fun; and the unintentional comedy is just incredible. Oh, and the Cubans come off pretty well. The