“The Great Raid,” John Dahl’s new World War II drama, ranks among the best war films in recent years by foregoing special effects and relying on authenticity.
Released after three years of being shelved by Miramax, “Raid” portrays the true, but little-known, story of the rescue of more than 500 American World War II prisoners from the Cabanatuan prisoners of war camp in the Philippines by a group of inexperienced Army Rangers.
Based on the books “The Great Raid on Cabanatuan” by William B. Breuer and “Ghost Soldiers” by Hampton Sides, “Raid” stays true to its war-movie roots by staying away from sensation. Instead of ruining a compelling war story by adding sloppy love story as the movie “Pearl Harbor” did, “Raid” moves with military efficiency.
Compared to recent high-tech war movies, such as “Stealth,” “Raid” has the feel of a film made 30 or 40 years ago. The story is a little slow at times, but easy to follow. It shows the Army planning and protocol similar to a movie like “Patton,” while actual raid scenes reward the audience with the ‘shock and awe’ the way “Pearl Harbor” did.
Those who like action-packed war movies might find “The Great Raid” a little plodding. Only at the end of the film does the movie have visual excitement from explosions and gunfire.
A parallel story of a prisoner’s survival keeps the audience involved until the last minute of the film. Army Maj. Gibson (Joseph Fiennes), the leader of the POWs, is infected with malaria but keeps up his men’s morale by smuggling much-needed medicine and supplies into the tightly-run camp.
The situation in the prison camp is desperate; prisoners die daily because of a lack of medicine and food and the brutal treatment. Having earlier survived the Bataan Death March, the prisoners nearly lose hope of a rescue until they see an American bomber plane flying above just a few hours before the raid is to begin.
As with many war movies, the individual soldiers do not receive much attention when it comes to character development. Most of the movie focuses on the prison camp and the POWs’ dire situation.
The movie does score points for authenticity by showing the Japanese treatment of American POWs. The Japanese Army was ill-prepared and under-equipped to handle such a large number of American and Filipino prisoners, and many starved or were killed on the order of the Japanese command.
One disturbing scene shows American POWs being herded into a bomb shelter, doused in gasoline and burned alive.
Another scene shows one prisoner trying to escape. As punishment, he and 10 innocent prisoners are shot while the other prisoners are forced to watch.
Because of the inhumane treatment in the camp, the actual raid scene is the most satisfying. The day before the raid, the Ranger commander briefs the battalion of 120 men, as well as the audience, which makes the raid scene easy to follow. The scene was filmed in a straight-forward style, unlike the chaotic style that Steven Spielberg applied in “Saving Private Ryan.”
The suspense reaches its apex when the Ranger commander waits until the last possible moment to start the raid. By this point, the audience is just as anxious as the soldiers to get underway.
Bombs explode and guns fire as the American Rangers force their way into the camp, reaching the point in the movie that war film audiences expect.
The film also gives credit to Filipino resistance fighters who helped the Americans in rescuing the prisoners. The Filipinos provide logistical support and serve as a distraction to a much larger Japanese force just a few miles from the camp.
The movie ends with inspiring archival film footage and photographs of the soldiers and freed POWs from the 1945 raid, as well as of Margaret Utinsky, the American nurse who helped smuggle medicine into the camp.
The success of the raid propelled the newly-formed Army Rangers into an elite fighting force that continues to take on the Army’s most difficult and specialized missions.
“With everything going on with our troops overseas, it’s good to see a movie like this,” said moviegoer Mark Hillis after he watched the movie. “It makes you proud to be an American.”
