Midway (2019)
(Lionsgate Films)
By Lucas Allen
Among the best and worst World War II movies ever made, 1976’s “Midway” was more of a middle-of-the-road title. Despite a capable all-star cast and good production values, its action scenes and special effects were marred by an over-abundance of Wordl War II stock footage and lifted shots from other films like “Battle of Britain” and “Tora, Tora, Tora.” Now we have a new “Midway” that attempts to be more faithful to the real-life events while handling the big-budget Hollywood epic by today’s standards. The man in charge of bringing one of the war’s most important moments is director Roland Emmerich, whose previous action films had been disaster pictures like “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012.”
After Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7 1941, the U.S. entered World War II with the intent of taking on the Japanese Imperial Navy on the Pacific side. When 1942 came, the remaining soldiers on duty on the Hawaiian base stepped up to the challenge. Leading the way in the naval bomber unit is Lt. Wade McCluskey (Luke Evans), while his hotshot young pilot Dick Best (Ed Skrein) makes it his personal mission leaving behind his wife Ann (Mandy Moore) and young daughter. As he prepares for battle, Best works his way up in the ranks while training other young pilots including dapper Bruno Gaido (Nick Jonas).
Meanwhile, Admiral Chester Nimitz (Woody Harrelson) and General Bull Halsey (Dennis Quaid) try to pinpoint where Adm. Yamamoto (Etsushi Toyokawa) and his navy will strike next. Only intelligence officer Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson) figures that the enemy will strike at Midway that could be open to a vulnerable attack. Then on June 4, both enemy fleets use all their might to decide the next chapter of the war and not everybody will make it out alive.
Unlike the 1976 original, today’s filmmakers have access to better special effects technology to recreate the look and feel of America during the early years of the second world war. In fact, the battle scenes mostly created on a computer look great on the screen that audiences will be very invested in the action. The action flows in each scene so that it feels like you’re sitting next to the pilots during the aerial dogfight. Also, with theater surround sound, all the firing weapons and explosions will give an intense audible experience.
Another thing that differentiates this version is story and character taking such precedence along with the action. The script uses more real-life figures into the story making it feels like an historical piece nicely reenacted for your enjoyment. However, the movie drags a bit in the second act when it detours into a brief sub-plot involving pilot Jimmy Doolittle (Aaron Eckhart) and his crew bombing Tokyo before crashing into Japanese-occupied China. It has no bearing on the plot and it could’ve been cut entirely without losing the pace. Despite that, the main story on its own is still interesting especially when it gets to some predictable points near the end.
This film boasts its own all star cast that helps add to the believability of the story. Seasoned pros Evans, Quaid, Harrelson and Wilson each do a good job bringing authority to their parts. Skrein proves to be a fine lead including sharing some decent chemistry with Moore. The only questionable thing about the cast is Jonas sporting some sort of faux accent to his character that could either be Jersey-sounding or French.
It may not be ranked among the best World War II movies, but this version of “Midway” does a good job being both a true-to-life story and an entertaining war film. It also does a better job of handling story, character, and effects than the ’76 version rightfully so.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for sequences of war violence and related images, language and smoking)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
