Old Contemptible | 11 Nov 2019 12:08 p.m. PST |
Saw the new "Midway" movie last weekend. Best use of CGI that I have seen. The movie was not just about the Battle of Midway. The movie attempted to cover the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway. That is a monumental task. It may have bit off more than it could chew. But with that mission in mind, the movie did a decent job of it. I hadn't checked out the cast before I went. It took me about ten minutes to figure out that Woody Harrelson was Nimitz. Didn't see that coming! He did a good job, but I can't help comparing this cast to that of the first "Midway (1976)." That's probably not fair. How can anyone be compared to Henry Fonda? The cast of the first movie was a who's who of Hollywood Royalty. Historical accuracy? For a Hollywood movie, it wasn't that bad. One thing that sticks in my mind was the twin engine American bombers attempting to bomb the Japanese fleet. From my reading of the battle, it was B-17s flying off Midway which first attacked the Japanese fleet. Never read anything about twin engine bombers. (I'm not talking about Doolittle's bombers over Japan.) These were apparently flying from Midway. This is was what I call a check box movie. We have a list of historical events and people and we need to check each one off. Many subtle things like the wrinkle uniform of the Naval Intelligence officer and John Ford filming his famous documentary of the battle, check and check. This gave the movie a heavy-handed feel. It didn't seem natural. It seemed forced. On the other hand, leave out these subtle details, then you hear complaints about that. Such is the lot of historically based films. You need to remember the film is intended as entertainment. It is not a documentary. Although the film at times, has a documentary feel to it. The 1976 film was one of those big Hollywood spectacles of yesteryear. Like "Lawrence of Arabia", ZULU" and "The Sand Pebbles." The new "Midway" film isn't in that category. But what recent films are in that category? The current movie wasn't anything like that. The use of CGI and tighter budgets have all but killed those classic sweeping movie sagas. The overall impression of this new "Midway" film for me, was that of those war time propaganda movies. Not that these events didn't happen. It is the look of the movie. It had a 1940s newsreel vibe to it. Which is hard to achieve with a movie filmed in color. Overall it is a very entertaining movie and it is worth seeing on the big screen. |
robert piepenbrink | 11 Nov 2019 12:19 p.m. PST |
Thank you, OC. I'll consider that if the snow lets up. |
martin goddard | 11 Nov 2019 1:14 p.m. PST |
Yes. I much preferred it to the older film. Excellent. A much better piece. |
WarWizard | 11 Nov 2019 1:33 p.m. PST |
I just saw the original version recently, with Heston and Fonda. I believe the character Heston played was fictional. I thought it was a mediocre movie at best. |
kevin smoot | 11 Nov 2019 1:44 p.m. PST |
I'm intrigued – but the fact the newer version was directed by Roland Emerich is a bit off-putting. I haven't forgiven him for The Patriot. I may see it, but I need a few more reviews. I care as much if not more about if it's well written, acted, and directed than if the right aircraft are represented – although I still want historical accuracy as far as the story goes |
HMS Exeter | 11 Nov 2019 1:51 p.m. PST |
There were 4 twin engined B26 bombers at Midway, but they carried torpedoes. |
Tgerritsen | 11 Nov 2019 3:46 p.m. PST |
Contemptible- I would like to watch this movie, and don't really obsess over minor points, but I have a fear based on the trailer that the acting is overly cheesy and the writing the same. Was that the case? Or can you enjoy the movie without having cringy moments of bad dialog that feels inauthentic for the time? |
Lucius | 11 Nov 2019 6:19 p.m. PST |
I thought that the dialog was occasionally stilted, but stilted dialog is perfectly authentic for the time. The characters spoke and acted just like my father did. He was drafted 2 months before Pearl Harbor, and spent 3 years in the Pacific War. |
Ed Mohrmann | 12 Nov 2019 7:14 a.m. PST |
HMS Exeter is correct. Those 4 Marauders sortied but scored no hits. IIRC, there were also 4 TBM's from VT-8 at Midway. |
21eRegt | 12 Nov 2019 9:29 a.m. PST |
Regarding the B26s, one indeed grazed the bridge of the Akagi, maybe deliberately. One of the things they got right. Pretty sure there were six Avengers flying off Midway. Thing that annoyed me the most was no US fighters anywhere. So the sacrifice by the Marine aviators over Midway is ignored. Finally, I didn't realize the Enterprise won the battle all by themselves. Which is the conclusion one might draw from the movie. |
Choctaw | 12 Nov 2019 2:51 p.m. PST |
It is a film made for entertainment purposes and should be viewed as such. It is not a historical scholarly work. Do button counters ever actually relax? lol |
Historydude18 | 13 Nov 2019 8:31 a.m. PST |
I watched it a couple of days ago with family and I really liked it. Although I've never been interested in Midway because no infantry were involved I do love Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and WW2 as a whole so I was interested in seeing it. I really enjoyed seeing Sam Houston and William B. Travis together in a WW2 film and thought they did a great job. I also never knew that the Japanese killed 250,000 Chinese civilians as reprisals for helping the Doolittle Raiders escape. My grandmother who was alive during the war is VERY anti-German even though my grandfather is half-German himself. I pointed this out to her because it's important to remember it was not just Germans who committed war crimes. I highly recommend Midway. |
GROSSMAN | 13 Nov 2019 1:19 p.m. PST |
I thought it was good, but the button counters will be driven crazy. They also did a good job of cutting out most of the schmoopy bs sideline love story that infects most war movies. |
Walking Sailor | 13 Nov 2019 5:19 p.m. PST |
Never read anything about twin engine bombers. link Upon landing the aircraft was written off. if the right aircraft are represented Someone did. A neighbor father took his daughter to see the 1976 version, in the theater. She still tells of him interrupting the showing by announcing "Those aren't Zeros, they don't look like Zeros." But he had had a good view from the back seat of an SBD. |
Ed Mohrmann | 14 Nov 2019 7:20 a.m. PST |
21eRegt is correct – VT-8 had 6 TBF's on Midway. I think only one made it back. Memory not so good anymore; I should have checked. |
ColCampbell | 14 Nov 2019 3:15 p.m. PST |
Just saw "Midway" with my "old retired guys" group. Enjoyed it although I had to leave just as the Japanese battlefleet was turning for home. Had to pick-up my granddaughter from school. I thought is was as good a war movie as Hollywood can make and much better than many of them. The CGI was believable even though flying through an exploding airplane would be very risky. Good story that in my opinion was well told. Col Campbell, Army guy that he is, gives it "two thumbs up." Jim |
15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 15 Nov 2019 10:58 a.m. PST |
Nice review, Colonel. Though it's far from perfect, I can see it as the kind of old-fashioned, full-blooded "war epics" that would feature leading men such as John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the good 'ol days of Hollywood. |
Legion 4 | 18 Nov 2019 3:48 p.m. PST |
Sounds like it is worth taking a look at ! |
Scafcom1 | 19 Nov 2019 8:59 p.m. PST |
Just saw the film today. Nitpicks aside, I really enjoyed this film. Good seeing things not mentioned in other films covering Midway( Brockman and the Nautilus, for example). Film did not drag and kept my attention throughout. I would recommend it to anyone. It is a good starting point to get people interested in this part of history. |
Stalkey and Co | 20 Nov 2019 3:39 p.m. PST |
It should be noted that the original Midway film is actually quite good, and that it is the inspiration for the original Star Wars movie attack on the Death Star. Just sayin'. :) I didn't know about this, but will try and see it. |
Nick Pasha | 20 Nov 2019 6:28 p.m. PST |
When Nimitz realized Midway could be a target he began sending anything that could be spared. PT boats, tanks, every spare airplane they had. The air force at Midway consisted of 32-PBYs, 4-B-26s, 19-B-17s, 20-Brewster Buffaloes, 7-Wildcats, 11 Vindicators, 16 Daumtlesses and 6 early versions of the Avenger. The Avengers had not been tested in combat and they had problems. The air attacks from Midway were not successful and 19 fighters, 5 Avengers, 2 Marauders,8 Dauntless and 2 Vindicators were lost.(info provided from book The Midway Campaign by Jack Greene from the Great Campaign Series) |
Nick Pasha | 17 Dec 2019 8:20 p.m. PST |
Saw the movie today. In a word, wow! I did copious amount of research for a paper I wrote for my Master's degree in 1987 on Midway and in my opinion the movie is very accurate. There are some minor discrepancies but I don't care about those. This movie is different from the original in that it centers around the Enterprise and its operations. Why not? It's the big E. The only one of the original carriers operating in the Pacific to survive the war. Yorktown, Wasp, Hornet and Lexington were sunk. I think Saratoga was transferred to the Atlantic after she was repaired. From beginning to end the movie was full of action and scenes of strategic discussion, with little down time. I don't care about the dialogue, the movie tells the story. Woody Harrelson does a great job as Nimitz. Dennis Quaid does a great job as Halsey. The Japanese actors did a great job as they usually do in these types of movies. The special effects were fantastic. My wife and I felt like we were in the planes. I'm glad we saw it. |