Review of Midway (2019) by Purpleheart1964 — 16 Nov 2019

Most reviews about “Midway” movie were negative, and frankly, I believe it is unfairly received by many the movie critics on the internet.

The Battle of Midway Island in 1942 was one of the most significant battle WW2, and it is believed to be more significant than the allies’ landing in Normandy, June 6th, 1944. Because in 1944 the Nazi was so badly beaten at all three fronts, Eastern Front, the West, and Italy campaign, the landing of Normandy is symbolic significance, but not earth-shaken like Midway’s. Had the US Navy failed to stop Japan’s invasion of Midway, most of Asia today, would likely be speaking Japanese as the primary language.

The US Navy in 1942, was barely recovered from the disaster bombing at Pearl Harbor. The US only upper hand against the Japanese was its code-breaking advantage. The US knew in advance of the Japan’s plan to create diversionary invasion on the Aleutian Island chains (part of Alaska), and decided to commit all of its remaining carrier strength against the Japanese naval forces headed for Midway, and in an incredible stroke of luck, decimated the Japanese seaborn invasion force, and Japan would never again fought on the offensive at sea, for the rest of WW2.

The new film about Midway, is not as exciting as the history itself. It does have good special effects, but most of the big shots are CGI (computer generated FX). But you cannot really blame on the extensive use of FX for the film, since there are so few WW2 planes left in the world that are still flyable. For example, there are only 1 known Japanese Mitsubishi Zero that still can be flown, privately owned by American collector, and most of pre-war US Navy planes today only exist in museums or in B&W photographs. Therefore, CGI generated Dauntless dive bombers and Devastators torpedo planes are the only option for use in such epic scale.

The factual details provided in the film are very good, and unlike the disaster 2001 film title of “Pearl Harbor”, nearly all portraying events are also historically accurate, although sensationalized. I do find the actors and portrayal of young US sailors and airmen are a bit “superficial” about the way they talk and behave, for men in 1940s don’t throw fists when they won. Most are relief that they survived, just so to prepare for a fight in another bloody campaign. The film “Midway” itself is gutsy enough to include the execution of captured US airman, who were tied to jerry cans, and then tossed overboard by the Japanese in vengeance for the battle lost at Midway. A sharp jab at Japan’s atrocities in WW2, as mentioned in the movie, is no surprise. Chinese investment firms co-sponsored this movie project. Ironically, China’s current expansion to usurp most of the South China Sea may become the next show-down between the world’s two super powers.

I feel that the opinions and reviews about film “Midway” is quite unfair and narrow-minded. The movie is NOT that bad, and it is quite good and entertaining. Some idiot movie critics expect “Midway” to be like as exciting as “Saving Private Ryan”, an expectation that is not just comparable – one movie is pure fiction, and other is a reenactment, story-telling of history. For some reasons, I found that most Americans are tired of the subject of war. The current, and longest war fought in Afghanistan for the US, along with multiple conflicts in the Middle East, appears to dampen most of American views and enthusiasm about victory in war, and many more with liberal views are simply sick of the subject of war. While being a ‘movie buff’, I came to appreciate theatrical war films that accurate portray events, and don’t exaggerate or wander too far from facts. Let’s face it, if war movies were made super accurate, few would pay to go see them in this day and age. Had this ‘Midway’ film has better cast in names, with veteran, well-known actors, the outcome in reviews would have been very different.

To sum it up, ‘Midway’ is a good film, and is fairly entertaining, far better than most of the garbage currently showing at the theaters. However, the film itself does not have any famous actors, to attract the audience to go see it. Showing along side the psychotic epic of “Joker” at the theaters, “Midway” would likely flop.