Released: November 2019
Director: Roland Emmerich
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 138 Minutes
Distributor: Lionsgate Studios
Genre: Action/War/Drama
Cast:
Ed Skrein: Dick Best
Patrick Wilson: Edwin Layton
Woody Harrelson: Chester W. Nimitz
Luke Evans: Wade McClusky
Mandy Moore: Ann Best
Dennis Quaid: William ‘Bull’ Halsey
Aaron Eckhart: James Doolittle
Nick Jonas: Bruno Gaido
November 11. Armistice Day. Remembrance Day. Veteran’s Day. Whatever name you choose to call this day, it’s an important day regardless. Historically speaking, today was the day that World War I came to an end. Around the world, the day would continue to be known as Armistice or Remembrance Day. In 1954, a bill was signed by President Eisenhower declaring the holiday be renamed Veteran’s Day in the United States. Regardless of what name you call it, it’s the day that people use to commemorate the service and sacrifices of the men and women of the armed forces. Whether it’s the British, French, Australian, or American military, this is THEIR day. Because of that, I really wanted to do something special for this year’s Veteran’s Day, so I decided to pick a military movie to review. I chose the new Midway by director Roland Emmerich.
Midway tells the epic story of The Battle of Midway during World War II. This battle was widely considered by many historians to be the turning point in the Pacific Theater when the U.S. Navy turned the tide of battle against the Japanese fleet. The film follows ace pilot Dick Best as he leads his air group into a battle of long odds against an enemy that outnumbers, outguns, and outclasses the American Navy in nearly every way. With the aid of intelligence officer Edwin Layton and the trust of one Admiral Nimitz, the American forces attempt to lure the Japanese into a trap to prevent them from reaching the West Coast of the United States. It is no exaggeration to say that if the Japanese won the Battle of Midway, the outcome of the war would have been very different. As it was in real life, Midway is very much an underdog story, and those tend to be the most exciting and compelling. Overall, the story here is excellent. There are some issues that I have here. While the focus is definitely on Midway, the film does touch on the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Marshall Islands, and the Doolittle Raid. Each of those story elements are enough to warrant their own films, with Pearl Harbor getting a couple of its own. While I appreciate that it does tackle those particular moments, the way the film transitions between them is very jarring. Instead of a smooth transition involving Layton and Nimitz coming up with how to execute these plans, the film abruptly cuts to one story segment and then to another. I think that could have been handled a little bit better, but the overall story is fantastic, hard-to-believe, yet absolutely true. The film also takes some inspiration from Tora! Tora! Tora! in that it shows things from the Japanese perspective, which gives the film more depth than it would normally have.
Unlike Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor, the actors in Midway are all portraying real people. The real standouts are Patrick Wilson as Edwin Layton and Woody Harrelson as Admiral Nimitz. These two are incredibly amazing actors and they really make their characters important and compelling. Harrelson in particular just nails it as Admiral Nimitz. Ed Skrein is okay as Best, even though Skrein is not the greatest of actors, and I think anybody could have played Dick Best. That being said, Dick Best was extremely important in the battle with him managing to hit three of the Japanese carriers and sinking two of them. Aaron Eckhart plays James Doolittle, who was known for leading a squadron to Tokyo and bombing it. Eckhart is one of my favorite actors working today, and even though he really didn’t have much to do here, it’s awesome seeing him play somebody that had a pivotal role during the war. Dennis Quaid is unrecognizable as William Halsey, who commanded the USS Enterprise. He gave the character a very gruff and demanding demeanor which was respective of the actual person. He did a pretty good job. Overall, the acting was pretty good.
The battles in this film are simply outstanding. The opening attack on Pearl Harbor doesn’t quite measure up to what Michael Bay did, but it’s still intense. Each battle escalates in intensity as it has in real life. From attack on the Marshall Islands to the actual Battle of Midway, the film throws everything at you, and yet what stands out the most about this film is the attention to detail. Unlike some movies where each torpedo hits its mark, in this film, they don’t hit their targets, because the pilots and sailors have to rely on their own senses to make sure that they hit their targets. That means they have to be damn good at their jobs. Not only that, the dogfights are incredible to watch. You look at the gunners in the American planes and how they move around whenever a maneuver is being made and they react accordingly. You’ve definitely got huge explosions, but the human element is never lost here and that’s a hard thing to accomplish in a film like this. You have to be careful that the spectacle doesn’t overshadow the people that made all this possible. In terms of accuracy, the film is pretty much on the nose. Even the tactics that pilots like Best use to hit their targets are very real. Again, attention to detail is important.
There are a couple of things about the film that bug me, though. The spoken dialogue sounds like it’s been written by a high school student. The dialogue at times feels like it’s supposed to belong in a b-level movie. Sometimes, this film does feel like that. I understand that the film is trying to be inspiring, and it mostly succeeds, but sometimes it trips over its own two feet trying to sell the American Navy as the underdogs here. It didn’t always quite work and the way some of the characters were written seems one-dimensional. The film’s musical score is also something that doesn’t really stand out to me. It’s not awful, but I won’t remember the music in a couple of days. This is a Roland Emmerich film, so you kind of have to know what you are getting yourself into. If, like me, you are a fan of Emmerich’s work, you’re going to find a lot to like here. If you’re not, this movie isn’t going to change your mind. If you’re willing to give it a chance, you may be surprised at how authentic it feels at times and how historically accurate it is while being entertaining at the same time.
It is to the brave men and women of the armed forces that I dedicate this post and review. Without your service and sacrifice, I wouldn’t be able to do this. We must never forget that the price of freedom is blood and that so many of our men and women shed theirs so that we could have that freedom.
My Final Recommendation: 8.5/10