Get Out the White Flag Quick.

Rating: Null/10 (30 August 2005)

The U.S. 6th Ranger Battalion (led by James Franco and Benjamin Bratt) makes a daring play in January of 1945 to save over 500 prisoners of war (officer Joseph Fiennes among them) from the notorious Cabanatuan Japenese camp in the Philippines. A sketchy and rarely talked about part of contemporary U.S. history here in a large and unwanted sleeping pill of near epic proportions. This is one of those projects that would have been better suited as a documentary or live action short subject. Amazing archive footage is the most endearing element as we have a faceless mass of soldiers, confusing situations and a totally out-of-place Connie Nielsen as a nurse who is part of an underground network of civilians attempting to help the American prisoners from certain death. The bad guys are almost invisible, the good guys have no narrative pace to work with and the direction is unclear with varying side-stories taking place from the beginning. The payoff is so dark and unspectacular that it does nothing to minimize the numerous problems found within. Production on "The Great Raid" started right after the events of 9-11, but the finished product sat on a Miramax shelf for over three years. Ultimately this would have been better left in the vault. "The Great Raid" is a long, dull and anemic experience that is sure to cure those with the worst cases of insomnia that fails completely in everything it wanted to accomplish. 2.5 out of 5 stars.