Mon 22 Aug 2005
Cast: Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielson, Joseph Fiennes, Cesar Montano
Director: John Dahl
Summary:
This is the true story about the greatest rescue mission in U.S. military history, when U.S. Army Rangers and Scouts together with Filipino guerilla fighters liberated 513 POWs from the Cabanatuan POW camp near the end of World War 2.
To provide some context and drama, there is a sub-story about the Underground Movement in the Philippines, which highlights how an American nurse working with Filipino resistance members helped smuggle medicine to the POWs in Cabanutuan.
Verdict:
The story’s protagonists, Lt. Col Mucci and Ranger Captain Prince were believably acted by Benjamin Bratt and James Franco, respectively. The supporting cast gave solid performances as well. Special mention should be given to Cesar Montano, who internalized the role of Capt. Juan Pantoja of the Filipino guerillas without going over the top with his acting.
The only acting that bothered me were those of Natalie Mendoza (Mina) and the Japanese head of the POW camp, whose accents I found somehow not quite right. In fact, Mendoza’s was outright irritating, like that of a non-Filipino speaker pretending to speak English with a Filipino accent.
The movie as a whole is not the big-bang type that one would expect of blockbuster summer movies. It is in fact more of a glorified, excellently-made documentary. Its biggest strength and appeal lies in its efforts to stay true to the essence and details of the actual event, and in its exceptional production design.
I recommend the movie to anyone interested in war films or history, or in a story well told in film format. I would also make a stronger recommendation for Filipinos to watch it, to better appreciate how dynamic and thriving Manila was before World War 2, and to see and recognize the role that Filipino guerillas and members of the underground resistance played in that war.
The Great Raid is something I would watch again on the big screen, and whose DVD I would buy as a gift to family members (especially my grandma, the wife of my late guerilla-veteran lolo) and friends, as well as add to our DVD library to show to our future kids and grandkids.
I rate it: 3 out of 5
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The movie is based on the books Ghost Soliders (Hampton Sides) and The Great Raid (William B. Breuer)
Posted under Movie-viewing
Very cool. I’ve been wary about the praises here in Manil about Cesar Montano. Di ko kasi alam kung puro PR lang ba. I guess I’ll give it a shot now.
tnx for the info. i haven’t watch it yet, but ill try to catch it. ur a movie addict, is it ok if i link u up? i luv movies too
Toni: it’s not the most exciting movie this summer, but i really appreciated this film. i hope you’ll like it as well. let me know if you’ve seen it and what you think, k?
joy: you’re welcome! yup, i love movies too! di pa naman ako ganun ka-adik, but i usually watch most of the new movies that come out each week…well, the better ones at least.
my hubby is more of the movie addict, though, so you might want to check out his site as well. thanks for linking to my blog…i’ve linked up to yours too!
Hey, I want to watch this movie because I am really curious as to how Cesar fared here. Too bad Koreans don’t even heard about it. Ugh.
I linked you ha. Naaliw ako sa blog mo eh. Naadik akong basahin lahat ng entries mo. Marami akong college friends diyan sa Cali. San ka banda? Ay, sana magkita tayo pag na-approve na visa ko. Masaya di ba?
Deity: thanks for your kind words about my blog, tuwa naman ako.
i’m in northern california, near san francisco. saan sa cali yung friends mo? where will you be residing? sige, email me when you’re getting ready to come over here so we can arrange to meet up! 
btw, i linked up to your blog too.
Carol is in Napa Valley, and Mickee is in Sacramento. Mickee works in Visa. I think Carol has her own day care center. Tess, a schoolmate is a nurse I think somewhere in Sacramento din.
My fiance’s from Texas, so most likely dun ako ma-base kase ayaw na niya magtransfer ng work. Malapit ba yun saiyo? I dunno. Who knows, baka mapagpag din kaming Cali. But am sure I will visit Carol and Mickee there so magmeet tayo.
Thanks for linking me up:)
Cheers!