I just got back from seeing "The Great Raid".
It's more like a "classic" war movie from the 40's and 50's, then the hyper-realistic movies like Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers. If you're expecting more like the latter, then you're going to be pretty disappointed.
It dragged in places, they developed the prisoner and nurse characters a lot more then the Ranger ones. They touched on the officers, but hardly anything on the enlisted men or the Philippino soldiers. A lot of time was spent on the day-to-day of surviving in the camp, which really didn't add much to the movie. For all the time they spent on the "romance", it fell kind of flat in the end. The relationship between Colonel Mucci and Captain Prince felt forced and artificial.
They really spotlighted the brutality of the Japanese on both prisoners and civilians, that was hard to watch. One thing, you'll wish they dropped 20 atomic bombs on Japan after watching this movie, especially after what they did in Palawan.
Special effects wise, not much, a few big explosions is all. The actual raid scene went by quickly, mostly the suprised and hapless Japanese guards getting mowed down. Plenty of Garand and BAR action, with the Filippino's Browning .30 cals getting their share. The Japanese get a few licks in, but it's mostly a one sided slaughter, as it was historically. The best part was the guy blowing stuff up with the bazooka.
Once the raid was over, the movie quickly glossed over the actual evacuation to American lines. The closing credits showed the real film footage of that, which was worth staying for.
All in all, a good, not great movie. The director made a big mistake concentrating on the prisoners instead of the Rangers and Filippinos. I liked that the Filippino's got a good share of the glory, as they deserved. An amazing historical feat of arms like this deserves a better movie, but it is what it is. I'd recommend waiting for the DVD, the big screen doesn't add all that much to it.
It's more like a "classic" war movie from the 40's and 50's, then the hyper-realistic movies like Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers. If you're expecting more like the latter, then you're going to be pretty disappointed.
It dragged in places, they developed the prisoner and nurse characters a lot more then the Ranger ones. They touched on the officers, but hardly anything on the enlisted men or the Philippino soldiers. A lot of time was spent on the day-to-day of surviving in the camp, which really didn't add much to the movie. For all the time they spent on the "romance", it fell kind of flat in the end. The relationship between Colonel Mucci and Captain Prince felt forced and artificial.
They really spotlighted the brutality of the Japanese on both prisoners and civilians, that was hard to watch. One thing, you'll wish they dropped 20 atomic bombs on Japan after watching this movie, especially after what they did in Palawan.
Special effects wise, not much, a few big explosions is all. The actual raid scene went by quickly, mostly the suprised and hapless Japanese guards getting mowed down. Plenty of Garand and BAR action, with the Filippino's Browning .30 cals getting their share. The Japanese get a few licks in, but it's mostly a one sided slaughter, as it was historically. The best part was the guy blowing stuff up with the bazooka.
Once the raid was over, the movie quickly glossed over the actual evacuation to American lines. The closing credits showed the real film footage of that, which was worth staying for.
All in all, a good, not great movie. The director made a big mistake concentrating on the prisoners instead of the Rangers and Filippinos. I liked that the Filippino's got a good share of the glory, as they deserved. An amazing historical feat of arms like this deserves a better movie, but it is what it is. I'd recommend waiting for the DVD, the big screen doesn't add all that much to it.