Film Review: The Great Raid (2005) C

Date Viewed: 6/15/06
Venue: DVD

It’s always a shame when a movie based on real-life heroism can’t deliver on the level those heroes deserve. While The Great Raid pays no disservice to the heroes it portrays, it doesn’t do a whole lot to make them interesting.

Based on real WWII raid to liberate American POWs from a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines, the story begins with a lengthy (for a movie) history lesson (utilizing some well edited archival clips) to set things up. From there we intercut the exploits of the POWs, the Rangers plotting the raid, and the Filipino underground movement.

We spent a lot of time getting to know our main characters, but unfortunately, they’re all pretty boring. Whether it be the noble but ill head POW Joseph Fiennes, army Captain James Franco (wooden as always), or American nurse/underground operative Connie Nielson (Lars Ulrich’s beau!), they all suffer from chronic cases of unflappable stoicism. That might work if there were a supporting character or two to keep things fresh, but there’s not. Everyone else here is a vaguely drawn archetype, nothing more.

Also complicating matters and inflating the already lengthy runtime is the all the intercutting. While I’m certain the Filipino underground paid an important role in this war, their importance to this raid is well, underwhelming. It feels the only reason this subplot was included was to simply keep a woman (Connie Nielson) in the film. She does have a mildly unrequited history with the Joseph Fiennes character, but that alone does not justify the screentime.

The final act surprisingly picks up rather well. The actual raid and its aftermath are compelling, exciting, and frankly bloody. It’s actually jolting after being lulled to a boredom-induced trance by the first two acts. And that’s what frustrating about this film. Why couldn’t the effort been made to make the first two acts as compelling as the last? It need not be done with action and violence. Character development and poignancy work just as well.

I realize The Great Raid has its heart in the right place and tries very hard to tell its story with honesty and dignity towards those involved. It’s a great tale of heroism under dire circumstances. And in many ways, it’s a stylistic throwback to older war films like Tora! Tora! Tora! But it’s just so unfortunate that The Great Raid can’t muster any urgency or real humanity until it’s too late.