Red Dawn was a cartoon. It had very little resemblance to reality. Every aspect of the theme was ludicrous. It was a jerkoff fantasy for survivalist types anxious for some kind of action. It was "Billy Jack" only with diabolical (and comical) commies instead of drooling bikers. It was "Santa Claus Versus The Martians". It was "The Blob". where the cool teenagers save the town while the old folks stand around helplessly. It was Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello against the Beach Nazis. It was sappy fiction about something that can't happen and won't happen.
Here's the heart of a good review of Red Dawn:
Red Dawn
Historically important for being the very first PG-13 movie ever released, and for temporarily holding the record for being the most violent film ever made (smart move, Valenti), Red Dawn is a movie I really used to love. That was before I learned about things like politics, geography, and logic.
Aside from the non-stop combat violence and periodically silly dialogue, Red Dawn is also notable for its cast. Sift through the silliness and you'll notice folks like Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Ben Johnson, Powers Boothe, and Frank McRae as "ill-fated school teacher."
The plot is so simple it's stupid: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the American midwest, so a bunch of scared high school students hightail it into the mountains, only to emerge as the vengeance-seeking commando unit known as Wolverines!
Coming off contributions to Apocalypse Now, 1941, and Conan the Barbarian, action-lovin' filmmaker John Milius came up with a "what if...?" war flick scenario that, while certainly not the most realistic concept ever gleaned, was certainly well-received by those who don't mind a little extra dose of ridiculousness mixed in with their rat-a-tat machine gun explosions.