Related articles and links |  1 of 4

World War I is often called "the Great War." But if movies were our only record, World War II would have the edge. The list of critically acclaimed films about WWII just keeps growing. This week, Christian film critics are raving about director John Dahl's new rescue adventure called The Great Raid. And when they call it "old-fashioned," they mean it as a compliment.

The Great Raid stars Benjamin Bratt (Catwoman) as a brusque colonel, James Franco (Spider-Man 2) as a captain, Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) as a prisoner of war suffering from malaria, and Connie Nielsen (Demonlover) as a courageous nurse.

Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) is one of few Christian critics with reservations about the film: "The Great Raid is a rousing, patriotic war movie—or at least it tries to be—but beneath the heroics, you can sense a more subversive and resentful sensibility. … While the historical events depicted here were unusual and cause for genuine celebration, the film that depicts these events is a dull, by-the-numbers set of war-movie cliché s—or, worse, since the story concerns three protagonists in three very different circumstances who only barely ever meet each other, the film is more like three sets of war-movie cliché s."

His biggest gripe relates to the portrayal of the Japanese. "Worst of all, unlike truly great prisoner-of-war movies like The Great Escape and Bridge on the River Kwai, The Great Raid never tries to get under the skin of the … captors. Sure, the Japanese committed some terrible atrocities, but even the worst offender, deep down, shares some sort of humanity with the victim against whom he commits the offense; you'd never know it, though, from the paper-thin treatment the Japanese receive here."

But Phil Boatwright (Crosswalk) says it's "the best film I've seen so far this year. … The Great Raid … concerns a moment in history that helped clarify the American spirit. … It's about that indefinable something that spurs men and women on despite the high cost of their actions. … There's a religious element where we see men praying and speaking of the need for faith. There's a sacrificial element as both men and women are seen putting others first, giving their lives for what they believe to be more important than themselves. And there is a good versus evil element hard to come by in politically correct times."

Marcus Yoars (Plugged In) says, "By the end of The Great Raid, I wanted to stand up and applaud each and every one of them for being willing to put his or her life on the line for our great country—for me. Because somewhere in each soldier (both now and in World War II) lies the courage to selflessly serve to the death. And that deserves our full attention and appreciation."

David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) isn't enthusiastic, but he's not upset either. "As far as moviemaking goes, The Great Raid falls short of the adjective in its title. But it is a good film, a throwback to the type of unabashedly patriotic movies churned out by Hollywood studios during the 1940s. … [It's] a highly watchable tale of tremendous heroism and sacrifice."

Andrew Coffin (World) raves without flinching. "While cynical critics may chide Mr. Dahl for his very unhip 'literal-mindedness,' he has in fact created a film that stands shoulder to shoulder with other modern war classics like Saving Private Ryan and We Were Soldiers. The Great Raid is remarkably free of political correctness: unabashedly admiring of the American soldier, critical of Japanese brutality, and—here's the real shocker—overtly appealing to an idealism that transcends the pathetically base motives assigned to soldiers in most modern war films."

next page... |  1 of 4

share this page

August (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49