The Great Raid

Miramax Studios presents

Starring: Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Joseph Fiennes

Directed by: John Dahl

Rating: *****

Plot: Taking place during World War 2 set after the famous death march in the Philippines. 500 POW's have been entrapped in a camp for a little over three years. A group of Rangers horribly out numbered make a heroic attempt to rescue the POW's before they are killed by Japanese forces. A great example of how a war movie should be made ensues.

Acting: James Franco is mostly known for playing Harry in the Spider-man movies. Here he plays Captain Prince a man who works really well with numbers but has to man up pretty fast when dealing with saving the POW's. I personally believe this man is going to be one of the stand out actors of this generation. He just fades away into his character making him seem very real and I wouldn't mind seeing him in future war movies because he has a very old time face. He played James Dean for a television movie I think a couple years ago and that makes a lot of sense because he looks like him a lot. Benjamin Bratt who lately has been stuck in movies like Catwoman I originally thought didn't belong in a war film, that he would look out of place. Well I was wrong he plays hard nosed Colonel Mucci and he worked, nothing outstanding but he did his job and was impressive. Joseph Fiennes was showed some depth playing a wounded soldier, not physically but mentally. Being held captive for so long he has become sick and he misses a woman who he dare not lust for because at the time she was married, now with news of her husband's death he gains hope for love in the most horrible place possible. That sounds bleak but it is very heart warming actually. My only real problem with his performance was probably a slight southern accent he tried to put on that slipped time to time, but beyond that he was just traffic. Also the supporting actors really made this movie feel real the soldiers, American and Japanese seemed like real troops during war. Just well done by the whole group.

Directing/Writing: Based off of two books Ghost Soldiers and The Great Raid on Cabanatuan I read the first and it was a great read. When I heard that the book was being made I was excited but thought it would be hard to create. Most of the book is about the preparation for the raid, and during the battle only two American's lost their. In reality that is amazing but in movie land that doesn't translate well. The screen play was spot on, going over small details and making the story very interesting and very heroic. The battle itself is shot with a wide look, no shaky cam like we've seen in recent movies just watching a battle take place. The action was very well done and suspenseful even though you basically know what is going to happen you still find yourself bouncing around in your seat. Also the audience must witness what it was like for POW's held by Japanese troops at the end of the war. At that time the Japanese saw it as if you surrendered you had no respect or honor and so treating POW's in a kind way was not at the top of their lists. We see men be burned to death, plane gun shot to the head executions. Unlike some other films the movie had a very good balance of showing the horrible and tragic side to war, but also the heroic side as well. We also see how the Philippine under ground operated and that is very interesting and something not seen on screen before.

Overall: Their has been a lack of war films out and that is understandable, since we are in a war it might seem too hard to bare watching Americans at war. This movie is very important to watch because unlike other over the top war films like Hart's War or The Pianist, this goes into detail and follows a true story trying to stay as close as possible to what really happened. Now I know it is hard for some to go into a war movie cheering on victory but this story is amazing and one that I am very happy made it to the big screen.