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Movies / On DVD / The Great Raid
The Great Raid

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The Great Raid (2005)

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Reviews Counted:116

Fresh:41

Rotten:75

Average Rating:5.3/10

Consensus: Though the climax of the film -- the actual raid -- is exciting, the rest of it is bogged down in too many subplots and runs on for too long.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong war violence and brief language

Runtime: 2 hrs 13 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Aug 12, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $10,074,830

Synopsis: Director John Dahl switches genres from film noir (THE LAST SEDUCTION, RED ROCK WEST) to military actioner with THE GREAT RAID. Following the 1942 Bataan Death March, thousands of U.S. and Filipino... Director John Dahl switches genres from film noir (THE LAST SEDUCTION, RED ROCK WEST) to military actioner with THE GREAT RAID. Following the 1942 Bataan Death March, thousands of U.S. and Filipino soldiers were imprisoned by the Japanese in a POW camp in Cabantauan in the Philippines. Brutalized, starved, and tortured, the prisoners languished in the camp for nearly three years. But in January 1945, an American battalion, with the help of Filipino guerrillas, planned a daring mission--some called it suicide--to rescue the five hundred U.S. soldiers still alive there. The film is told in glorious detail. The story is based on two books, THE GREAT RAID: RESCUING THE DOOMED GHOSTS OF BATAAN AND CORREGIDOR by William B. Breuer and GHOST SOLDIERS: THE EPIC ACCOUNT OF WORLD WAR II'S GREATEST RESCUE MISSION by Hampton Sides. In addition, several men involved in the raid served as consultants on the project. The result is a thrilling, agonizing, and unforgettable war movie like they used to make in the 1940s and 1950s, a celebration of the human spirit. THE GREAT RAID stars Benjamin Bratt as Lt. Colonel Mucci, an offbeat military man who puts his faith in young Captain Prince (James Franco) to lead the dangerous mission. Among the men imprisoned in the camp are Joseph Fiennes as the ailing Major Gibson and Marton Csokas as Captain Redding, who is always trying to escape. Connie Nielsen adds romantic tension as a war widow smuggling much-needed medicine into the camp. [More]

Starring: Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Robert Mammone, Max Martini

Starring: Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Robert Mammone, Max Martini, Joseph Fiennes, Marton Csokas, Natalie Mendoza, Dale Dye

Director: John Dahl

Director: John Dahl
Screenwriter: Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro
Producer: Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein, Jonathan Gordon, Lawrence Bender, Marty Katz
Composer: Trevor Rabin
Studio: Miramax Films

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Release:

Sep 19, 2006

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Reviews for The Great Raid

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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I felt like I was being held prisoner. How could such a daring rescue be so boring?

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
08/04/05
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

There's genuine tension in the film.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
08/11/05
John Anderson
John Anderson
Christian Science Monitor

It lacks both excitement and outrage, and all that remains is solemnity. It makes you wonder whether you should watch the movie or stand at attention.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/12/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

The drama is well-paced and often exciting.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
08/11/05
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A sturdy yet stagnant depiction of courage under fire.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
08/08/05
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

The Great Bore. War epic lacks emotional impact.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
08/12/05
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Sometimes you can have the best story a filmmaker could ask for, a giant pile of money and all the best intentions, only to end up with a sub-par piece of work.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
08/11/05
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Filmcritic.com

A well-produced, rousing feature based on one of those forgotten World War II episodes that make for great cinema.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Lewis Beale
Lewis Beale
Film Journal International

'Nothing in our lives will ever be as important as this,' says Lt. Bratt, in a pep talk that some of his boys might have found more depressing than motivational.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
08/15/05
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Unfortunately, although John Dahl's film may have the length one normally expects from a war film with an ambitious trajectory, it lacks focus and the pacing is uneven.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
08/11/05
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

At times the action drags, but the details of the raid itself are riveting. The rescue scenes will leave you feeling as if you were in the midst of battle.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
08/12/05
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Appeals to your interest in military strategy and the performance of our troops at their best. Patriots with an ounce of fervor should be willing to pay double or see it twice

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
07/22/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

A WWII movie so parched, so Reader's Digest expository, so utterly expressionless, it confuses taciturn Greatest Generation nobility with paralysis.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
08/10/05
Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What makes The Great Raid so disappointing is that the heroic moment it depicts deserves so much more.

Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
08/12/05
Jeffrey Bruner
Jeffrey Bruner
Des Moines Register

Dullest. Cast. Ever. Everybody in this movie comes off like they're playing dress-up. Here's one that should've stayed in the vault.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
08/09/05
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

See the film for its depiction of astounding heroism and military ingenuity. Take the rest with a grain of salt.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
08/12/05
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Okay, so [it's] the hokiest war movie in the last 35 years....Bottom line: is the raid great? The answer is “yes,” qualified by the film’s unearned 132-minute running time.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
08/11/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

When the raid actually starts, it becomes a great war film.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
08/12/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

While the historical events depicted were unusual and cause for genuine celebration, the film that depicts these events is a dull, by-the-numbers set of war-movie clichés.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
09/25/06
Peter T. Chattaway
Peter T. Chattaway
Christianity Today

Divided three ways among the rangers, the prisoners and the resistance fighters in Manila, the movie feels unfocused, schematic and overpopulated.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
08/11/05
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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