Grade: B Midway honors heroes of the historic battle while serving up an impressive CGI display.
Back in 1939, German forces invaded Poland and kicked off World War 2. The United States remained neutral in the affair until December 7, 1941. A day that will live in infamy. The Imperial Japanese Navy bombed Pearl Harbor forcing the United States to enter in the war. The United States Navy had to retaliate against the Imperial Japanese Navy for Pearl Harbor. A string of events and intelligence hiccups eventually lead to the Battle of Midway, which caused the Japanese Navy to retreat.
The new CGI juggernaut, “Midway,” opens with the Pearl Harbor bombing and gives you a tense ride all the way through the Battle of Midway. It is big, loud, and realistic enough to make you look over your shoulder for enemy zeroes during its many epic dogfighting scenes.
“Midway” is Directed by Roland Emmerich and it stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, and Woody Harrelson, to name just a few of its star studded cast. Despite of all the talented actors featured in the movie, there were quite a few instances of “phoned-in and cardboard” acting. It might have been poor editing or maybe even lazy directing, but some scenes just came across as too cheesy for such a serious subject matter. While some of the acting was a little lackluster, the movie makes up for it with the visual effects and sound.
Pretty much right out of the gate, the bombing of Pearl Harbor takes place and audiences are then thrown into the driver’s seat of a fighter plane. Fighter jets’ bullets fly everywhere as Japanese bombs destroy the United States’ battleships such as the USS Arizona. It was truly chaos and hell. The state of the art CGI and sound within “Midway” help to make it feel like you were living amongst the chaos. It is truly an experience that is not to be missed. I saw it on a Dolby Cinema screen with a sound system that made my seat shake with every bomb being dropped.
“Midway” is tastefully done in regards to showing respect to the soldiers who fought on both sides. There is a scene that explains why the USS Arizona was sealed up before it was fully sunk. I have been to the USS Arizona Memorial site and it truly is a special place honoring the brave heroes from that day.
“Midway” was appropriately released before Veterans Day and the movie should be seen by everyone so we can never forget our past heroes. The two hour and eighteen minute historic action drama is well worth your time and you will be highly entertained. Go out with your friends and see this at the biggest and loudest theater you can find. If possible, take a vet and thank them for their service! Without their acts of heroism, we might not have had the freedom we enjoy today.