The Great Raid (2005)

[ZapRowsdower]

The Great Raid
Action/Drama/Romance/War, 2005
Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Joseph Fiennes, Connie Nielsen
Produced by Lawrence Bender
Written by Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro, based on the books "The Great Raid on Cabanatuan" by William B. Breuer and "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides
Directed by John Dahl

Ever since Saving Private Ryan, one could say that war movies are a dime a dozen. I don't. Especially not one as well made as this one. I think the timing of the film's release was a little off, considering patriotism is somewhat a "no-no" in today's movies.

Still, it's good to see a good old fashioned war movie. And it is indeed old fashioned. This was filmed in such a way that it reminded me of the Bridge on the River Kwai. In fact, this was the best POW movie since.

I rented the film on the recommendation of my friend, and I do not regret it. This was one of the year's best films.

The Good:
--It's very old-fashioned. Very little reliance on CGI.
--It's an emotionally moving picture.
--Joseph Fiennes gives a great performance. In fact, all the lead actors gave fine performances, including Benjamin Bratt, and especially Connie Nielsen.
--It was very atmospheric.
--The action was well-done, not overdone, and the film kept a steady pace.

Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--It's somewhat patriotic. This may or may not bother you, but it's kinda hard to make a movie about the most heroic rescue mission in American history and not have it be patriotic.
--Some may be offended by its portrayal of the Japanese as barbaric. I didn't think so. They explained at the beginning of the movie that the Japanese were fueled by propaganda to show us no mercy.

The Bad:
--If you were offended by the last category, just place those here.

The Ugly:
--If you were REALLY offended by that category, they would go here.

Memorable Scene:
--The raid itself, and just about any scene involving Margaret Utinsky.

Acting: 15/15
Story: 20/20
Atmosphere: 10/10
Cinematography: 10/10
Character Development: 15/20
Costumes: 10/10
Dialogue: 20/20
Music: 10/10
Direction: 25/25

Overall: 96%

[Quorthon]

I've got a hankerin' for a new war movie. This isn't on DVD already, is it? I thought it just came out...

Well, I for one, love to see some old-fashioned American patriotism in a movie. There's so little these days (in most all parts of America) that it can be very refreshing to see it pop up in a movie.

And yes, indeed, the Japanese were fed oodles of propaganda in WWII. They were told that if Americans set foot on the home island that any number of horrific atrocities would beset them, including cannibalism and rape. They were also bombarded with pro-Japanese propaganda, eerily like the propaganda in Nazi Germany--they were told that Japanese people were superior to all other races and that other races were sub-human. All this from the country that eventually brought us Speed Racer and Hello Kitty...

[ZapRowsdower]

Actually, it is out on DVD right now. It was released a couple weeks ago. That's how I saw it. ;D

[Quorthon]

I finally saw it. Here we go:

The Great Raid
War Drama
2005
Color
MPAA Rating: R
Directed by:
USA

With my near constant-watching of the History Channel and ever-increasing love of World War II movies, I might just as well become a WWII History buff. This film is hailed as the best war movie since Saving Private Ryan. Clearly, whoever said that had forgotten about Germany’s visually powerful, and very striking, “Downfall” chronicling the last days of WWII through the eyes of the ever-dying Nazi party, with special emphasis on Hitler himself. Like “Windtalkers,” this film follows the exploits of the Americans in WWII on the Pacific, rather than European, front. And, like “Enemy at the Gates,” this one also follows a true story, albeit, quite likely with a higher degree of accuracy.

Here, we follow the true story of the surviving American POW’s dramatic rescue from a Japanese internment camp. These were the men who were “forgotten” in the Philipenes by the United States to focus on the European front and dethroning Hitler. The captured POW’s endured near endless torture and starvation, and were the surviving members of those that died on the infamous Bataan Death March. The story chronicles the extreme bravery of a paltry few men (fewer, I believe, than 200) who journey 30 miles into Japanese-held territory to rescue their fellow soldiers. Why? Because they believed (with good reason) that when the Americans began their advance to the Japanese mainland, all those men would be slaughtered.



Here’s the breakdown:

The Good:
--The acting is generally quite good as is the detail of the scenery we have. We get to know the characters pretty well.
--Excellent cinematography and visuals. We only have a single opening sequence that gives off a feeling of being animated with computer graphics.
--Most of this two hour movie is build-up to the final confrontation, like many films. And that final confrontation is a whopper of a show.
--Plenty of violence for war film enthusiasts.
--Generally good dialog and writing.
--Excellent music, however, it felt at times like the music was a throw-back to the way soundtracks for these kind of films sounded in the 50’s.
--Excellent tense moments and some genuinely tough imagery, namely, a cold execution of some soldiers.
--The film is bookended with footage from the war and narrated to fill us in on everything.

Didn’t Hurt It, Didn’t Help:
--Unfortunately, despite the massive amount of violence—mostly dominating the final act--the film is too bloodless. “Saving Private Ryan” gave us shocking scenes of blood, violence, and gore—and it really hammered home the terror and insanity of war. After that, this movie does come off as being a little tame for a war film.

The Bad:
--Some occasionally cheesy, cliché moments, unfortunately. They didn’t especially hurt the film, but they made the first, say, half an hour a little rough.
--Not as emotionally powerful as “Saving Private Ryan,” “Downfall,” or “Schindler’s List.”

The Ugly:
--Does there have to be someone named “Jimmy” in every single WWII movie??

Memorable Scene:
--The attack on the camp.

A Note About the DVD:
--The DVD has an interactive timeline of the events of WWII which goes as far as to detail souring relations between Japan and the US prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, straight through to the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the war’s wrap-up afterwards. Very nice.



Acting: 8/10
Story: 10/10
Atmosphere: 9/10
Cinematography: 10/10
Character Development: 8/10
Special Effects/Make-up: 9/10
Nudity/Sexuality: 1/10 (brief dialog)
Violence: 9/10 (not exactly tons of violence, but exceptionally well done)
Gore: 3/10 (just blood)
Dialog: 7/10
Music: 9/10
Direction: 9/10

Cheesiness: 3/10
Crappiness: 0/10

Overall: 9/10

So, then, where does it stand in the annals of WWII films? For me, it’s not as powerful as “Saving Private Ryan,” “Schindler’s List,” or “Downfall.” It’s on about the same level as “Enemy at the Gates,” but more exciting (Joseph Fiennes stars in both of these). It’s a superior film to “Windtalkers,” which I felt had some problems in the writing and the imagery wasn’t gritty enough. It’s a great film for War Movie buffs, especially WWII buffs. Recommended.