Sunday, January 8, 2006

The Great Raid

Starring Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielson & Joseph Fiennes
Rated R (Some Language & Graphic Violence)

The Great RaidThis is a great movie that didn't get the recognition it deserves. Just as good, if not a little better, than Saving Private Ryan. It's the true story of the Army's 6th Ranger Battalion and a group of Filipino guerrillas and the raid they staged on a Japanese POW camp in Cabanatuan in the Philippines rescuing 500+ POW's in 1945. If you want the history lesson, here you go. The only bad thing I can say about this movie is that it starts off kind of slow. It starts off with the planning of the raid and it's more strategic than movies we're use to, but it's still good. If you get this, get the DVD. The extras are something you need to see. There's a documentary called The Soldiers Remember which talks to a few WWII POW's and has some photos taken during the war and some of the POW's that were rescued from Cabanatuan. The DVD also has a great WWII timeline of the events leading up to the war and during the war. Very well done. But there is a warning. If you have someone in Iraq or Afghanistan, you may want to skip this movie. Like I said above, it is very graphic. The execution scene that takes place in the POW camp may be too much for some to watch. Definitely not for the kids. But this movie gets a perfect score. Shows just why the American military is the best in the world.5 Star

0 comments: