Set at an indeterminate point in the future, this drama with an overt anti-communist message begins as an ostensible war movie: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the U.S. (that premise dates this film, in fact, it sends it back to the McCarthy era) and are viciously eliminating the inhabitants of a small town when a group of teens escapes and plans a counterattack. Jed (Patrick Swayze) and Robert (C. Thomas Howell) and six of their friends watch in amazement as the soldiers parachute into their town and start shooting. The teens grab a pick-up truck, stock up on supplies at the local store, and head for the hills. Meanwhile, the men in the town - after a minimal resistance - are rounded up and held at a drive-in theater converted into a concentration camp. The sadistic Soviet military then make them watch acclaimed Russian director Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 classic Alexander Nevsky, as their punishing rehabilitation begins (this is supposed to be serious). Meanwhile, after minimal resistance from the adults, a Cuban, Bella (Ron O'Neal) is put in charge and is not certain how he can really defeat the teen army. The Soviets and Cubans have so far defeated the American Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force but these teens are really something else. After a successful ambush, the teen guerrillas gear up for future forays, when they are suddenly betrayed by one of their number and by doubts about the morality of what they are doing. At this point, what is left of the drama more or less disintegrates, though the anti-communist propaganda continues in full force. With dialogue as inane as the premise (especially in 1984), this movie is only lightened by a few good scenes, and by the young Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Jennifer Grey, Lea Thompson and others doing the best they can with their roles.