Le Grand Raid

In terms of lasting value, I believe The Great Raid is one of the best films to have graced the screen this year. It's a straightforward war movie about unsung heroes. The story involves the basic facts of a Japanese POW camp which was liberated near the end of the Japanese occupation of the Phillipines. American soldiers and Phillipino resistance fighters teamed up to chance a daring raid on the heavily guarded camp. Fictional elements are added to the story, such as a surprisingly compelling love story, and believable explorations of friendships among both prisoners and fighters.

The script is good, the acting and editing superb, and the photography is very good. The film is violent, but does not wallow in flying guts and body parts as has been the recent fashion. Nothing flashy, nothing overwhelming, just solid craftsmanship. This is a film which is less concerned with making an impression than it is with telling a story, and I found that very refreshing. In my opinion, the film succeeds completely in telling its simple story and will likely be recognized for years to come as one of the better war films of recent times. All of the acting in this film is excellent, but watch for the standout performances from Marton Csokas, Joseph Fiennes, James Franco and Connie Nielsen.

I feel that this is an important film for people to see regarding the little known but most impressive rescue attempt made during WWII. I went with some friends who enjoyed it very much also and considering that we were women going to see a war movie, we did not know what to expect. We were treated to a satisfying and moving entertainment experience and also learned new things about what the previous generation had to go through. We already know about the horrors of war and it was moving to see the heroic exploits undertaken by some very brave men to save their comrades from Japanese annihilation. There were good character developments as well as action sequences. THe newsreel and actual footage that bookends the film add to its impact as one can compare the actual characters with their counterparts in the film. History classes in schools should be taken to see the film.

This word today about the JAPS sounds very cruel and offensive to the Japanese people, but during the War Years during WW II in the Pacific this word was used in most American Newspapers and spoken about during this horrible war with a nation that killed and raped many people in Nanking, China. In this film many of U.S. Service Men are trapped in a Japanese Concentration Camp who inflicted horrible tortures and slaughter hundreds of American Soldiers and women who are treated worse than animals. America makes every effort to find these lost prisoners of war and is horrified how the Japanese soldiers treated our people and make a great effort to free all these prisoners. However, it took many men and women lives in order to accomplish this mission. This is a great picture which still remembers all the men and women who gave their lives to fight back at the mistreatment of American soldiers. GREAT FILM.

THE GREAT RAID does everything right, on all levels, especially by framing itself with real footage from those times which, in some cases, features the actual events and participants. The acting is uniformly excellent, the pacing is flawless, and the historical context does not short-change any aspect of the story, be it cruelty and horror in war or bravery and nobility in suffering or even dignity and honor in combat. This is in many ways a movie made the way they used to make movies, but without the rah-rah patriotism or sneering social commentary. What it brings home simply by presenting the story in a straightforward manner is what we used to be capable of, what we once were and stood for, and what we fought against, and why. To be reminded of this is sobering, if not harrowing. Definitely one of the best movies my family and I have seen in a long time, it's recommended whole- heartedly for everyone. And Benjamin Bratt turns in a mature, restrained performance that marks him for great things on the big screen.

Old fashioned movie with an ensemble cast instead of A list powered star who uses the movie as a vehicle to command top dollar is rare these days in Hollywood. That's why this movie worked. They assembled a great cast of fine, top notched actors together from the USA and the Philippines but no "superstar". They all portrayed their characters and meshed out the story without any modern day politicking and criticism. I don't know about you but that is truly refreshing in this day and age of movies.

I'd recommend this movie to anyone. Major criticisms seem to be that there's no deep complex characters and no protagonist. I think that is a positive for this movie because the POWs are the main characters themselves. The men and women just did what needed to be done for their countrymen and their country. There was deep motivation because someone had been scarred when they were 15 and thus acts this way. Most of the characters are real life people and you can't focus on one or two characters like in a fictional story that someone wrote.

It's too bad this movie won't do well at the office because it doesn't cater to the teens and their expendable income. The limited wide release also won't help it but I know for those who watch it they'll be touched. They'll know that there were and are sacrifices being made to ensure that the country they live in are safe and protected.