The Great Raid

[Dahlia]

It opens today... does anyone plan on seeing this in the theater? I may go tonight/this weekend. It hasn't received spectacular reviews, but most critics agree that the story itself should be told.

 

[Thomas Walden]

It looks too saccharine. I won't be seeing it in the theater, but it's possible I may see it on video. Joseph Fiennes is usually good.

 

[PADDY]

Excuse my ignorance, but...

What actual "GREAT RAID" is this about, as it could be anything from the American Civil War, to the bombing of Dresden. So please enlighten me, so that if/when it comes across the pond, I can hopefully go and see it, knowing that the plot is Cheers me dears!

 

[Hondo]

I haven’t seen it yet but from what I have read from veterans of the era, the Philippinos actually rescued the captives, It wasn’t all white Americans who rescued them, but white wash hollywood attempt, just like the “Bridge on the River Kwai� that movie was total fiction.

 

[Feraud]

I haven’t seen it yet but from what I have read from veterans of the era, the Philippinos actually rescued the captives, It wasn’t all white Americans who rescued them, but white wash hollywood attempt, just like the “Bridge on the River Kwai� that movie was total fiction.

Gosh, I hate when filmmakers do that. I hear it is a good book. I will go for the book and probably see this when it comes to cable t.v.

 

[Hondo]

What actual "GREAT RAID" is this about, as it could be anything from the American Civil War, to the bombing of Dresden. So please enlighten me, so that if/when it comes across the pond, I can hopefully go and see it, knowing that the plot is Cheers me dears!

My apologies Paddy, I got so tongue tied, The “Great Raid� was during WWII on the Philippines, I don’t wish to give away the whole shebang, but the captives were held by the Japanese, and so the story goes, I don’t blame any one for not knowing the truth, I my self didn’t know until last week.
I’d hold off seeing this until it reaches Cable or DVD release, its another Hollywood white wash of the truth.

 

[Dahlia]

I haven’t seen it yet but from what I have read from veterans of the era, the Philippinos actually rescued the captives, It wasn’t all white Americans who rescued them, but white wash hollywood attempt, just like the “Bridge on the River Kwai� that movie was total fiction.

A Hollywood movie that gives a favorable/exagerated view of American history isn't at all surprising. All the same, I'm still interested (if anything I would want to see the period otufits, etc. that were used), especially since the other movies that open today include Deuce Bigalow, European Gigalo.

Paddy, from reading the movie's synopsis, I gathered that the movie is basically about the 6th Ranger Battalion during WWII going on a mission to rescue a bunch of American prisoners from a Japanese POW camp.

I'll give my opinion of the movie if I end up seeing it this weekend.

 

[Hondo]

A Hollywood movie that gives a favorable/exagerated view of American history isn't at all surprising. All the same, I'm still interested (if anything I would want to see the period otufits, etc. that were used), especially since the other movies that open today include Deuce Bigalow, European Gigalo.

Paddy, from reading the movie's synopsis, I gathered that the movie is basically about the 6th Ranger Battalion during WWII going on a mission to rescue a bunch of American prisoners from a Japanese POW camp.

I'll give my opinion of the movie if I end up seeing it this weekend.

Sure by all means, give us a review, its just a war movie by hollywoods terms, no harm done, good action film :cheers1:

 

[Feraud]

...It cannot be worse than Deuce Bigelow, right?

 

[Andykev]

The "Great Raid" sucks per reviews

Is this the Great Raid?

The Great Raid

Reviewed by Scott Brown



War often presents us with horrible choices: Fall asleep in the theater or fall asleep to the History Channel? That's the question posed by The Great Raid, a WWII movie so parched, so Reader's Digest expository, so utterly expressionless, it confuses taciturn Greatest Generation nobility with paralysis. Raid, conceived in the wake of Sept. 11 and shelved for two years, looks like a historical reenactment staged by animatronic Boy Scouts. It's the true tale of a daring mission to retrieve U.S. prisoners of war from a Japanese death camp in the Philippines, but director John Dahl, in his pacing, seems more intent on evoking the Bataan Death March. How did the nimble indie moralist of Red Rock West find himself in this quagmire? Raid, arcing brass fanfares aside, is no kin to Saving Private Ryan, or even The Big Red One. No, Dahl has decolorized The Green Berets.

The main problem? Raid lacks a center. It's an exhausted sprawl with multiple story foci, none of them terribly compelling. There's the rescue unit of Army Rangers, headed by stolid Lieut. Col. Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) and equally stolid Capt. Robert Prince (James Franco, whose main duty is to overwhelm the enemy with voice-over). They're attempting something brazen, but unless you're a military historian, you'd never guess. There are the POWs, headed by stolid, malarial Major Gibson (the dependably cadaverous Joseph Fiennes). And there's Margaret (Gladiator's Connie Nielsen), the stolid nurse Gibson loves from afar, who's running the resistance in Manila. Stolidly. Dahl chisels not a sliver of nuance from all this wood. The Japanese are mere villains, so don't hold your breath for a Colonel Saito. But Dahl does vividly re-create that least heralded burden of war: the boredom.

 

[Dahlia]

I did end up seeing the movie this weekend. I'll try to give a brief review - I thought it was a little too drawn out, Benjamin Bratt should not have been cast in it, some of the scenes were not believable (they were obviously thrown in to hold the audience's interest), it didn't effectively interlock the different story lines, and (I guess this part would be considered a type of spoiler, so don't read if you don't want to hear it) at of the people who die, only one of them is a main character-I don't believe there was enough given about those characters who died to elicit a response from the audience at their death. Also, the main battle scene was rather uneventful-it's basically what you expect to happen, and nothing more.

However, I thought there were other points that made it, in my opinion, a "good" movie. It did show the Pilipino army's participation in the event, although I am not sure if there is anything that the movie left out. Also, I thought Connie Nielsen gave a rather good performance, and her character's story in itself could have been made into a movie. Overall I would recommend it if you are looking for something to go see in the theater, or otherwise to rent if you are just interested in the time period, etc.

 

[Quigley Brown]

I watched this on cable the other night. I was quite disturbed by the cold-blooded executions scenes.

I think it needed a better title. 'Great Raid' is sort of vague.

 

[fortworthgal]

I personally thought it was an excellent film, along the lines of Saving Private Ryan. Pretty accurate in most aspects, although I do feel that the main female character played by Connie Nielsen, and the "love story" was a bit too exaggerated and too central to the movie. From what I have read, her character's role in the movie was quite different from the real-life Margaret. That is the only beef I could come up with. Otherwise, excellent film based on a true story. Highly recommended!

 

[mikepara]

Dought it'll come over here.

May get to see it on DVD someday. Lots of films seem to be missing in action.

 

[reetpleat]

As one of the characters in the true story, Prince, just died this week, and he was a Seattle native, I took an interest and decided to bump this thread. My brother sent me the book, Ghost soldiers on which the movie was based. It is quite good. I went to the video store this morning and, before I could even ask about it, it was right in front of me.

I will have to wait to review the movie, but am hoping that having read the book, I will at least enjoy seeing it in movie form, so will not be dissappointed if it is not such a good film. I would recommend the book to anyone, but unfortunately, just gave my copy away to a member. he is an ex ranger, so he should particularly enjoy it.