Inspiring, Under-appreciated Film

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2006)

It is truly a shame that "The Great Raid" was such a bomb at the box office, given that it was such a powerful and insightful telling of a truly amazing event in American history. I was particularly impressed with the way the movie paid service to so many different players in the event. Not only were the struggles of the prisoners and U.S. Army Rangers planning the raid told, but also those of the Filipino freedom fighters, and the underground resistance leaders, helping the POW's at great risk to their own lives. I thought the movie was an honest, unglamorous, yet incredibly compelling re-telling of the sacrifices of heroes in the midst of a brutal war. Heroes are individuals who put themselves in harms way in order to protect others, and you will find so many different examples of heroism in this incredible, true tale.
And yet the movie was a financial bomb. The sad fact is, if "The Great Raid" had been released in July instead of August, with a star such as Tom Hanks in the cast, it would have maid ten times as much, easily. I am not judging the movie based on its box-office performance, I am just detailing the melancholy truth that the story shown in this movie, every bit as inspiring as "Saving Private Ryan", reached a far smaller audience because its stars, James Franco, Benjamin Bratt, Connie Nielsen, and Joseph Fiennes, are not quite as well known as those found in that other movie. I hope that this movie attracts a large following in video form, because an amazing story, told with such passion and conviction as this, inspires people to be better, to have greater perspective on their world situation, and maybe believe in something larger than themselves. I hope everyone who sees this film takes away as much from it as I did. And I also hope that it finds a much greater audience in time.