Need to infiltrate and North Korean border and rescue four navy seals taken to a prison camp? No worries, according to The Rescue it’s pretty much a walk in a park – that is, if you’re a gang of four teens and a 10-year old kid.

What we have here is a strange mix of an action movie done like it was a book out of the The Famous Five series. On the other hand there’s shootings, bombs, knife fights and multiple dead Koreans and on the other it’s all just one safe adventure in the style of a Disneyland ride, up to the point of actually riding down in a sewer pipe like it was an amusement park waterslide. Had they really followed the action-adventure tone of the movie they should’ve amped up the characterisation between the actors to be more distinguishable so that they wouldn’t be so wishy-washy and easily forgotten.

Production wise the movie is professionally shot, and actually offers some semi-decent action towards the end, but unless you’re a 12-year old and the year is 1988, The Rescue might be a mismatch for you.

80s-o-meter: 86%

Total: 61%