The Great Raid

Rating: R13 – Contains Violence & Content That May Disturb.
Duration: 127 mins.
Genre: War.
Actors: Joseph Fiennes, Marton Csokas, Benjamin Bratt, Dale Dye, James Franco, Natalie Mendoza, Robert Mammone, Max Martini.
Director: John Dahl.
Release Date: Available Now.

Saving Private Ryan this isn’t, but then it has something that Ryan didn’t, a solid foundation of actual events.

The Great Raid is a more grounded war movie; it’s a movie about the people and the events over the explosions and action.

It’s about trying to portray the realism of the situation.

And in this it succeeds.

Based on two written accounts of the Ranger lead rescue operation at the Cabanatuan POW, Great Raid on Cabanatuan and Ghost Soldiers, the film follows three main groups of people; The Rangers who undertook the five day rescue mission, the prisoners themselves and the local resistance.

The POW camp scenes are reminiscent of To End All Wars, and clearly show the Japanese contempt for soldiers who surrender, and are carried by an outstanding performance by Joseph Fiennes as malaria ridden Major Gibson, who attempts to hold the prisoners in order and give them hope of a future.

These scenes are possibly some of the most powerful of the movie.

The Rangers slow march to the campsite is just that, slow. Intermittently paced by cutting back and forth between the three main storylines, some viewers will struggle with a lack of ongoing action, but to moan about the pace would belittle the significance of what was done over these five days.

If, like me, you’ve read Ghost Soldiers, you may struggle with the movie more than others, secure in the knowledge of the outcome, but don’t let the slowness of pace, or the foreknowledge keep you from watching a well filmed true drama of World War Two.

Food for thought:
Does anyone have the right to force their views on others?

Rent or Buy?
Buy it only if you’re a WWII buff.