Another true story WWII film with Joseph Fiennes!

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2006)

The Great Raid Review
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.
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