The Great Escape lacks emotion and intensity

Rating: 5/10 (13 October 2010)

The Great Escape is the type of movie where people from different generations will have wide variation of opinions. People from the so-called "greatest generation" who lived through WWII and may have served in the "war to end all wars" like my grandfather, will probably enjoy this movie. It's good vs. evil in a world where that seemed so evident in life. Allied vs. Axis and the Nazis vs. freedom. This group of airmen will doing anything to escape the clutches of the evil Nazis who are holding them captive.
However, the major problem with the movie is that the Nazis don't seem so evil, cruel or stern. There is lack of fear or even concern for the characters because this group of Nazis are wellnice and well-mannered to a fault. You feel like it is a game to everyone involved. The airmen try to escape and they are playfully sent away to the "cooler" with a smile and mild scolding. The next attempts result in the same punishment this time without the smile. Nobody is threatened with a firing squad or sent away to hard labor. The Nazis seem to encourage escape attempts.
Having seen recent movies like Schindler's List, Max Manus and Sophie Scholl; the Nazis in these movies aren't so forgiving of war-time transgressions. It just rings false in this movie especially for someone in my generation (genX) or younger. This leads to a lack of intensity or involvement in the movie when you know the characters face little to no consequences for their actions.
It doesn't completely ruin the movie because the final third of the movie has some real reasons to finally become involved in the characters because bullets actually start to fly and some characters actually have to fight the enemy. Still the action is stilted and hollow because of the lack of film making expertise and technology, so you don't feel the emotion that you should based on the fatal incidents.
The Great Escape has some fun moments with good actors like a young Steve McQueen, James Garner and a less grizzled, almost gentle Charles Bronson. It was enjoyable to see them before they became really famous movie stars. However, this movie doesn't deserve the universal praise that it received from film critics and viewers. If you want to see Steve McQueen in a motorcycle chase this movie is for you. If you want to see an intense prison break during WWII—don't bother with this movie.