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The Great Raid

R Released Aug 12, 2005 2h 12m War History Drama List
38% Tomatometer 120 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
In early 1945, as World War II is nearing its end, Gen. Douglas MacArthur selects Lt. Col. Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) to command a bold rescue mission in the Philippines. There, in the city of Cabanauan, more than 500 American soldiers are being held captive in a brutal prisoner-of-war camp. With the assistance of Capt. Prince (James Franco), Mucci will lead the valiant soldiers of the 6th Ranger Battalion in one of the boldest POW rescues in American history.
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The Great Raid

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Critics 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.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com The raid on Cabanatuan is extraordinary. Exciting, tense, full of crackling suspense and filmed with old-fashioned daring, the movie comes alive with crackling electricity it does not know until this very point. Rated: 2.5/4 Sep 10, 2005 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle There are the makings of a fine, moving, epic war film here, but thanks to the inclusion of enough chatty exposition to sink the Bismarck, again, and some just plain silly casting choices, The Great Raid is anything but. Rated: 1.5/5 Aug 14, 2005 Full Review Daniel Fienberg Zap2it.com [S]ometimes the most worthy of stories, the most relevant of history lessons, the most rousing of plots can still become the dullest of movies. Rated: 2/4 Aug 13, 2005 Full Review Debbie Lynn Elias Behind The Lens [The Great Raid tells] a tale of courage under fire and serving as a reminder to us all in this day and age that war is not all about smart bombs and precision aerial displays; rather, it exemplifies life, death, honor and courage. Nov 6, 2019 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Undeveloped secondary characters and awkward pacing thwarts the movie from achieving its '60s war film ethos similar to "The Great Escape." Rated: C+ Apr 15, 2009 Full Review Kam Williams Princeton Town Topics Instead of a tribute to a fine chapter in the annals of the Greatest Generation, we have a second-rate romance right out of a cheesy, pulp fiction novel. Rated: 1/4 May 25, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Nathan T The character development and that could have been better, but this is an extremely accurate film in terms of portraying the raid and of conditions in the camp. A really fine movie which I really like a lot! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/20/24 Full Review Jason P Decent flick to have in the background. James Franco seemed out of place. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/24 Full Review Allard V Got cheated into watchin this by having too much free time and running out of movies on Netflix. None convincing acting by every single actor, almost comedy. Dragging to the end with totally irrelevant little side issues that only distract from what the movie could have been. Slowly winding down in a finally, so boring and cliché, that it was clear that all the film crew wanted at this point was to go home and forget about this mess. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/12/22 Full Review john p This movie covers an embarrassing era of WWII when the US gov't turned its back on their own for years as the suffered in Japanese terror and death camps & marches. Japanese didn't view their prisoners as humans but as disease to be destroyed once info and/or labor was gained. After the fact a brave but combat-virgin set of American troops go and save the remains of their comrades. A hard movie to watch as men die 'forgotten' but a real boost to see the heroism in the rescue. Hats off to the local resistance that helped the US! See this for an eye-opening look at WWII war crimes and heroism across the Pacific Ocean. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member This was n amazing military operation which I had never heard of before. The story was well told and well acted. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review harsh c Lazy acting, maybe resulting from the uninspired script, followed by a highly successful raid which is so straightforward it's hardly suspenseful. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In early 1945, as World War II is nearing its end, Gen. Douglas MacArthur selects Lt. Col. Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt) to command a bold rescue mission in the Philippines. There, in the city of Cabanauan, more than 500 American soldiers are being held captive in a brutal prisoner-of-war camp. With the assistance of Capt. Prince (James Franco), Mucci will lead the valiant soldiers of the 6th Ranger Battalion in one of the boldest POW rescues in American history.
Director
John Dahl
Producer
Marty Katz, Lawrence Bender
Screenwriter
Hossein Amini, Kevin Lund, Douglas Miro, Carlo Bernard
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Miramax Films, Village Roadshow Prod.
Rating
R (Strong War Violence|Brief Language)
Genre
War, History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 12, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$10.2M
Runtime
2h 12m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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