The Great Raid

A 2005 Miramax film about the real life rescue of World War Two POW's by American Rangers from the notorious Japanese prison camp of Cabanatuan. Despite the inherent drama, the film did not do well at the box office.


 * Actor Allusion: Max Martini as an Army Ranger.
 * Based on a True Story:
 * Cold-Blooded Torture
 * Determinator: The Japanese commanding officer of the POW camp goes to ridiculous lengths to inflict more casualties after his men are massacred.
 * Elites Are More Glamorous: Army Rangers and Army Alamo Scouts are the main US troops in charge with freeing the POWs.
 * Filipinos With Firearms: Filipino resistance fighters aid the Rangers.
 * Katanas of the Rising Sun:
 * Kick the Dog: Numerous. The Japanese in WWII weren't exactly known for sticking to the Geneva Convention.
 * Actually, Japan didn't sign the Geneva Convention until 1953. Their treatment of POWs is what led to a rewriting of the Geneva Convention.
 * La Résistance:
 * Reality Is Unrealistic: The huge disparity in casualties led some critics to lambast the film as unrealistic, even though the very few American and Filipino casualties was exactly what happened in the real raid.
 * Terrifying Rescuer: Many prisoners don't realize the rangers are friendly because after being brutalized for so long, they're afraid it's another Japanese trick to get them "disciplined."
 * Yanks With Tanks: