GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

arfdawg-1 The Plot.Seven weeks after Pearl Harbor, volunteers form the new 2nd Marine Raider Battalion whose purpose is to raid Japanese-held islands. The men selected come from different walks of life but have toughness in common. Under command of Colonel 'Thorwald', they're trained in all imaginable forms of combat. Then, after a perilous submarine journey, they face a daunting first mission: to annihilate the much larger Japanese garrison on Makin Island, in a lengthy battle sequence.I didn't think I was gonna like this movie. And yes, it is dated.But it's very engaging and hard to stop watching. It's directed at a brisk pace. Some people call this racist. It's not. They call the enemy Japs. That the entire racism in this movie.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS***After Pearl Harbor with the Japanese Navy & Army sweeping across the South Pacific it's decided by the higher ups in the US military to start meaning business in putting an end or stop to their conquests and it's at Guadlcanal where that's to happen. As it turned out the battle of Cuadalcanal turned out to be a lot tougher for the US Marines & Navy then what was at first expected. Then as a saver it was decided to raid the island of Makin to relieve the pressure and give the US Marines a little breathing space. That's where Col. Throwald, Raldolph Scott, and his 600 raider came into the picture. It was their job to take over the island kill all the Japs defending it and then, after the job was done, blow the place sky high leaving nothing for the Jap reinforcement to use after retaking it. A tall order for the tall six foot four Col. Thorwald and his raiders but after six months of intense training not an impossible one.One of the better WWII propaganda movies that makes the war as realistic as any Hollywood studio could without the ridicules and at times phony heroics that their so used to doing. The raiders do create a bridgehead on Makin Island but the resistance by the Japanese troops makes their stay a hot one. Slowly but surly the raiders take over half of the island suffering heavy casualties but soon run out of gas ammunition and men when faced with a major Japanese counter-attack. It's then that the witty Col. Throward comes up with this unique plan to have the Japanses themselves, in coming to help the Jap forces on the island, do the job for him. With of all things the good old Stars & Stripes painted on the roof of the captured Japanese headquarters building.Great battle scenes with most of the cast, the US Marine Raiders, not making it to the final end of the picture. And the Japanese, played for the most part by what looked like Hispanics, getting their just deserts with not one as far as I could tell surviving. As for the Japs pilots attack on the raiders on Makin Island they now have a lot to explain to their superiors including the infuriated Emperor why in fact they stupidly help the allied not Japanses cause in the fighting. As for the raiders themselves their sacrifices, over 30 dead, was not in vain it gave the US Marines and later Army reinforcement the time they needed to not only hold off but defeat the Jap banzai charges on Guadalcanal but have the US Navy regroup and strike at the heart of the Japanese Imperial fleet. That's before it could continue it's offensive not only past the Hawaiian Island but the Unitaed States mainland as well.

vitaleralphlouis GUNG HO was a re-issue at my neighborhood theater 50+ years ago when I was a kid. Seeing it again on VHS is looking back on a dreadful but proud of American history. Think about it -- 1943 -- and America was facing powerful enemies in both Europe and the Pacific, America was losing on both fronts and the outcome was in serious doubt.Randolph Scott, Robert Mitchum, Rod Cameron and others portray some of the first soldiers to score a victory in the Pacific, and this fine movie shows you just how difficult the task was.These days we have liberal empty-heads posting "reviews" on this site that refer to films like Gung Ho as "propaganda." Fortunately, even in 2009, most Americans still appreciate what these great heroes did to assure the freedom that "intellectuals" disregard with contempt.

MARIO GAUCI This fact-based war film (detailing the first ground assault on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor) is neatly divided into two parts – showing, first, the specialized training session of the carefully-chosen platoon (which is quite interesting) and the mission itself (displaying fairly standard heroics but well enough done nonetheless).The film has been criticized for glamorizing what was essentially a band of cutthroats (Leonard Maltin even describes it as "a jaw-dropping experience"). Still, there was no doubt that any war picture made during this time wouldn't ram propagandist slogans down the audience's throat (witness Randolph Scott's final straight-into-camera speech); ironically, even if the latter was the film's nominal star, he's rarely involved in the action proper – being there mainly to co-ordinate things, and repeatedly instigate his men to kill every Jap on the island!).The supporting cast is good, made up of veteran character actors – J. Carroll Naish, Sam Levene – and newcomers – notably Robert Mitchum; however, a fair share of the running-time is unwisely devoted to the romantic triangle involving a girl and two soldiers who happen to be half-brothers (one of them played by Noah Beery Jr.) – all of which has a quite deadening effect on the main narrative! Despite being a relatively early WWII film, the action sequences are surprisingly gutsy – though accentuated on occasion by obvious stock footage.