Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

LeonLouisRicci Anything and Everything You might want in a 1943 WWII Movie. Rousing, Brutal, Realistic and Explosive Battle Scenes and Hand-To-Hand Combat, Propaganda and Jingoism. On Top of that it Educates on a Term (Gung Ho) that has Entered Our Culture, although its Meaning is Hardly Well Known and Today can be used as a Pejorative. Also, a Submarine Transport that is Under Attack adding Icing to this Already Tasty Cake.It's got Two Screen Macho Icons in Randolph Scott and an Early Entry from Robert Mitchum with a Great Nickname (Pig Iron). It also has More Blood and Nastiness than most Films at the Time. There is a Goodly Amount of Marine Training with Emphasis on Judo, the Art of the Knife as a Killing Weapon, and a not often seen Eye Gouging Demonstration.This is One for the Books. Scotts Final Speech Looking Directly into the Camera is Priceless. It Typifies the Attitudes and Behavior of the Propaganda Machine and also that of a Real Mindset. A Fantastic Time-Capsule that to this Day has not Received a Decent Transfer to Disc and Remains Unrestored and Neglected.Recommended for WWII Buffs, Historians(Cultural, Political, and Military), and Anyone who Enjoys a Good War Movie, Especially one made in Tandem with the Real Events.

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.

Jeff (actionrating.com) Skip it – A WWII propaganda film that is not bad compared to most made during the war, but still does not deserve to be ranked among the great war movies. Devoid of any character development or storytelling, it is more of a straight forward retelling of the events surrounding the American raid on Makin Island. Starring Randolph Scott and a young Robert Mitchum, the film waits until about an hour in for the action to start. There is, however, more than one battle as the Americans work their way across the island. This is not a "one and done" action movie. There are some pretty decent combat sequences in the second half of the movie, so if you can put up with the old-fashioned feel, it might be worth a watch.

writers_reign Seeing this for the first time - as I am - in 2011 the most interesting thing about it is the cast, arguably unremarkable at the time but verging on the fascinating in retrospect, for example Louis Jean Heydt would appear with great effect in the Bogie/Bacall version of The Big Sleep within a couple of years, Noah Beery Jnr would claim a place in the John Ford rep company, Sam Levene would star on Bradway as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Mitchum would become a super star etc. Clearly intended as a morale booster I'm sure it succeeded admirably but there's nothing actually new or innovative and in the canon of movies filmed actually during the second world war and dealing directly with that global conflict it would probably have a tough time getting into the top ten, despite which it's certainly watchable.