★
US soldiers and pilots change the course of World War II during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The US and Imperial Japanese naval forces fought for four days.
Classification: 12A
Historical accuracy aside nothing is moving or captivating about Roland Emmerich's retelling about one of the most important naval battles in history. Bearing obvious similarities in tone and execution to Michael Bay's 2001 film Pearl Harbor, Midway comes across as a terrible insensitive sequel that disappoints on a larger scale. Without a shred of genuine compassion or excitement, most of the film is a slog to go through especially the CGI heavy battle scenes. Emmerich's direction has no engaging rhythm, scenes of dialogue between actors are stilted and Midway never establishes consistent pacing or flow in how it executes its story.
Midway has been a passion project of Emmerich's for years, his respect for the history of the battle doesn't become clear until the end credits reveal the service records of all the characters featured in the film. Unlike Pearl Harbor, every character featured in the film is based off real servicemen and display their courageous actions in fighting for their country. The problem is that the screenplay has just about every character feel like a caricature out of 1940s propaganda making them impossible to take seriously. Ed Skrein's lead performance as Lieutenant Dick Best has him across as a clichéd loose cannon who can't abide by the rules, complete with gum chewing and a heavy Jersey accent that sounds exactly like an Englishman trying to sound American. It's an issue that extended to all the younger performances, everyone trying to put on hokey accents to try and sound authentic when it's just horribly distracting, especially in Nick Jonas' case. With the more seasoned actors, it's a mix of too little or too much, Harrelson is just sleeping through the movie, no sense of character or personality but on the opposite Quaid goes full imitation of a surly boat captain from an old Hollywood picture.
The only actor who feels grounded and real in Midway is Patrick Wilson's Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Layton whose character arc had the most potential in the film. The film opening with a flashback to the late 1930s where Layton converses with Admiral Yamamoto about what the future may hold with their two countries. Layton holds himself responsible for the intelligence failure that led to the attack on Pearl Harbor and wants to prove himself to Harrelson's Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Wilson never has his performance descend into parody and it's his classic charisma in capturing the professionalism, commitment and perseverance of Layton's character that makes him the best representation of the greatest generation in the film. Layton doesn't wallow in his guilt or lash out because of his failings he merely gets back to work, he lost the first battle but he won't lose the next one.
With the heavy old school nostalgia stylings to Midway, it wouldn't be amiss to think that with the American nationalism blaring from all cylinders that the film would display the Japanese Navy in less than favourable conditions. The film doesn't go full "Yellow Terror" like the western propaganda of the forties with plenty of scenes displaying the strategy of Yamamoto, and battle scenes featuring Tadanobu Asano's Tamon Yamaguchi. Emmerich intends to honour both sides and explore the reasons for Japanese aggression along with the mistakes the Army and Navy made that led to a victory for the Americans. Not surprisingly the Japanese characters are the more interesting ones because Emmerich doesn't play to the period stereotypes with Asano having one of the few genuinely emotional moments in the film. The issue again is that the script and Emmerich's direction fail in creating anything substantial within the film, all this historical accuracy is let down by the inauthentic adaptation.
Midway has no tangible tension or urgency to any element to its story, even the opening battle scenes depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor is just a mess of CGI and over the top antics. Realism has no place in this film and it severely undercuts the heroics and events being depicted, it has all the subtlety of all Call of Duty game, a warped image of how people view the history of war. There's no terror in seeing the ships explode or planes crash, the characters don't feel real and the danger is merely replaced by bombastic set-pieces of dive-bombing and machine gunfire. Midway turns the horrors and perils of warfare into an artificial display that appeals to the fantasy rather than the reality, it's all about how "cool" the battle is.
Emmerich does display the difficulty in landing the winning shot, the aerial shots to Midway show how difficult it is for a dive bomber to hit their target when against unrelenting bombardment from anti-aircraft fire. However, every missed shot doesn't ratchet up the pressure, it may be realistic but it just feels like the film dragging itself out. Midway despite all the period panache, spectacle and explosions it just feels like a slog, each historical event depicted lacks any of the necessary gravitas. Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway itself illustrated with just unnecessary mixtures of clichéd ideas and outdated idealism that just bore the audience. There is no shame feeling pride and honour for these men and their bravery but Emmerich's vision for the film plays this history more towards unrealistic expectations of American perfection.
It's one of the most crucial and important victories in American History that changed the course of World War II and Emmerich's Midway fails to capture the importance of this moment in time. Turning it all into a soulless action blockbuster robs the consequence of the decisions and victories gained, making it all seem trivial. Even if envisioned with the best intentions to honour the pilots and sailors on both sides, Emmerich doesn't make a compelling or emotional narrative for any of his characters. History just becomes a backdrop for explosive action in the vein of Emmerich's earlier action films and disrespectful to the veterans that deserve to have their story told with far greater respect.
Director: #RolandEmmerich
Cast: #EdSkrein, #PatrickWilson, #LukeEvans, #AaronEckhart, #NickJonas, #DarrenCriss, #MandyMoore, #DennisQuaid, #TadanobuAsano,#WoodyHarrelson
Release Date: November 8th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
Comments