Midway

A critical part of WWII gets the big epic cinematic treatment, with all star casting and lots of noise. Though purporting to be exactly how things were during this particular battle, a pinch of salt is also needed. Much of the film is taken up with laying foundations for the air-sea engagement of the title, political posturing and military machinations are joined by needless sub-plots. The dialogue is often cheese laden, some characterisations equally so, while the splicing of real life footage and other war movie moments start to detract. However, the last third of film is thrilling and worth waiting for, a whirl of battle action as the Pacific conflict comes vividly to life both visually and aurally. 6.5/10

As many others have stated, the flaws in this film are many. There is the unnecessary subplot of an American aviator and his interned Japanese/American girlfriend, which serves as nothing more than a gratuitous distraction. Limits in 1976 technology forced the use of cheap-looking special effects and recycled footage from other movies and war footage, often resulting in incorrect historical portrayals of the ships and aircraft present. Some historical plot details were omitted or glossed over entirely, mostly due to production and budget limits. And the acting was uneven, and in a few parts pretty bad, and sometimes failed to realistically portray a few figures.

But there are few war movies that can generate as much excitement in me to this day like this one. I first saw this movie as a two-part NBC Movie of the Week when I was ten years old and instantly developed a passion for the Battle of Midway and WWII military history in general. The climatic scene of the dive bombers pounding the Japanese carriers into wrecks still gives me goosebumps thirty-five years later, as does the horror of watching a young fighter pilot nearly burn to death in his plane. The John Williams score was fantastic, as it was in many movies, and kept the sense of drama on the edge. And for me, the standout performances were by Henry Fonda as Admiral Nimitz, Glenn Ford as Admiral Spruance, and James Shigeta as Admiral Nagumo. Fonda brought to life Nimitz's cool but tough demeanor, and his willingness to take calculated risks based on his intelligence sources, rather than play it safe and guard what he has left. Ford played Spruance well as a calm, cerebral admiral that plays by his own instincts rather than the way the man he replaced (Halsey) would've played it. And I enjoyed Shigeta's portrayal of Nagumo as a leader who, despite his perceived material superiority, is wary of the lack of intelligence and communication regarding the whereabouts of the American fleet, and the uncertainty of what really may be waiting for his carriers as he undertakes his mission.

It's real easy to pick apart the historical details of this movie, especially given more recent information and sources that weren't available back in 1976. But even allowing for that, the movie stays mostly true to history. And to those who aren't looking to nitpick details and just want to enjoy the story being told, there's more than enough "wow" in this movie even almost forty years later. I would recommend it as a primer for young kids (but not too young, there is some blood, language, and tense scenes) with an interest in military and WWII history that hasn't yet researched more comprehensive works written like Walter Lord's Incredible Victory, Gordon Prange's Miracle at Midway, and Anthony Tully/Jonathan Parshall's Shattered Sword.

I would like to see Hollywood do another adaptation of the battle of Midway someday, but am fearful of them turning it turning into another Pearl Harbor, or becoming a political statement rather than the retelling of an incredible true story. Until that day comes, this one will have to do. And it does surprisingly well, if you can tolerate the flaws and just enjoy the show.

This was one of my favorite movies when I was growing up and building models of land, sea, and air craft of the WWII period. Of course we all could have done without the romantic interest, but what counts is the overall telling of the story accurately (even if that includes sideline dramatizations etc.). In a nutshell Midway was a gamble and even though we knew where they'd be, we still took it on the chin with the loss of most of the aircraft and the Yorktown (which left only 2 effective carriers in the pacific and 1 in drydock). In the end we were lucky enough to be able to inflict sufficiently more damage on them than they did on us. This is the story that is told so well. It doesn't matter that the special effects were less than stellar (e.g., view of the fleet from the sealevel - obvious miniatures) or that they showed Essex class carriers which did not yet exist getting hit by kamikaze. The film is true in its depictions of gambles, gaffs, and good fortune which in the end allowed us to be victorious and end Japanese expansion. So quit knocking it and enjoy it for what it is!

I can't help but agree with most of the other comments: the sloppy production values, the scenes "borrowed" from better movies, the countless anachronisms, the distracting subplot about Lt. Garth and his Japanese girlfriend, and so on. But for me, this movie has two strong points in its favor. One, when they get around to the actual battle, they follow the history with surprising accuracy. (The "Pearl Harbor" makers could have learned something from this one.) So the movie's hard to follow? So was the actual battle! Personally, I think they did a pretty good job of keeping the flow coherent while still remaining faithful to its source material.

The second thing in its favor is that, from the moment I first saw it in the theater as a 10 year old, it ignited in me a passion for the Battle of Midway that remains to this day. I can't think of any other movie that even comes close to getting me as hooked on its subject as this one. Maybe it's a good thing I first saw it when I was young, when I was much less discerning about production values, etc. That way, I could concentrate on the story itself.

If you have even the slightest interest in military history or even in important historical events in general, do yourself a favor. Watch "Midway" to get an overview of the event (fast-forward over the love-story scenes if you like), then go read "Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord (which is a better book than the one for which he is most famous, "A Night to Remember"). You won't be sorry.

Like "The Longest Day" and "Tora! Tora! Tora!", "Midway" follows the true story very closely and features an all star cast. And like the Longest Day, it features Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, and Robert Wagner. However, whereas the first two are war classics, Midway falls short in many departments.

For one, the movie seems to have no sense of building suspense. In the Longest Day, the paratrooper landings and the scenes of bombardment vessels creeping toward the shore let you know that all hell is about to break loose. Likewise, in Tora! Tora! Tora!, scenes of anxious commanders, desperate analysts, and the oblivious Hawaii residents are separated by scenes of approaching Japanese bombers to hike the suspense factor. Yet, despite the fact that Midway was the most decisive naval battle in modern history, we don't get a true sense of how important the pilots' jobs are or how grave the implications of the battle are, except for from titles before and after the movie. Where were the scenes of planes prepping for takeoff or of pilots, wary but dutiful about a mission that may be their last?

The battle sequences are another problem. First off, most of the footage is actual war footage or stock footage. The stock footage works fine for the bombing of Tokyo (since the shown footage is actually about that event) but is a little less convincing when the footage shown is supposed to be of Hawaii's Hickam Field but is passed off as Midway Island. Worse than the presence of stock footage is the editing. While maps of the ocean are shown repeatedly so that we know where the action is taking place, it's hard to tell what's what when we're away from the maps. We see planes crash into water and bombs explode, but most of the battle sequences could use a little more coherence. Had the makers of this movie shot a little combat footage of their own, even if only to make the battle scenes less jump, the movie would have benefitted.

For the most part, the cast is pretty good and fares well with only occasionally trite dialogue. However, only Heston, Holbrook, and Shigeta stand out. Many of the other players are simply not given enough time to make an impact. Coburn, especially, has little to do.

The flaws of this movie notwithstanding, it's still watchable, and it gives you a pretty good idea of the events and decisions leading up to the battle, as well as the errors and luck that went into the battle itself. And when you can't figure out what's happened from the uneven visuals, at least Nimitz (Fonda) or his at-sea commanders are there to describe what happened and add some perspective.

** out of ****