The fictional China is the one attacking America in the upcoming remake of 1984’s RED DAWN, but the real-life China apparently isn’t keen on the negative portrayal. And in a way they have a point, considering the US owes them several generations worth of debt.
Chinese state-run newspapers are reportedly upset (I don’t think “up in arms” would be an appropriate term) after seeing set dressings and script excerpts from the movie, which has China’s People’s Liberation Army teaming with Russian forces to attack America: “Despite the world’s focus on U.S.-China relations in the strategic and economic dialogue and their increasing economic connections, China can still feel U.S. distrust and fear, especially among its people. Americans’ suspicions about China are the best ground for the hawks to disseminate fear and doubt, which is the biggest concern with the movie RED DAWN.”
China’s media regulators tend to frown at any politics portrayed in movies (they edited Russia references from IRON MAN 2), so Chinese movie fans probably shouldn’t expect to see RED DAWN on their screens at all, even if they wanted to.
As with the chest-thumpingly patriotic Cold War-era John Milius flick, the new version revolves around a group of teens who become insurgents battling a US invasion of military forces from Russia and China (altered from the original’s Cuba, which seems to be the only major change aside from new faces). This time around it’s Chris “Thor” Hemsworth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Josh Hutcherson, Isabel Lucas, Adrianne Palicki, Josh Peck and Connor “Son of Tom” Cruise fending off the trespassers and shouting “WOLVERINES!”.