Directed by:
Roland EmmerichScreenplay:
Wes TookeCinematography:
Robby BaumgartnerCast:
Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Mandy Moore, Luke Kleintank, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Keean Johnson, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa (more)VOD (4)
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Midway centers on the Battle of Midway, a clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy which marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. The film, based on the real-life events of this heroic feat, tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome the odds. (Lionsgate US)
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Reviews (10)
I was kind of looking forward to a war movie with a classic cut, a big gimmicky spectacle to provide entertainment and escape, and not be completely stupid at the same time. Well, unfortunately, what I got was a very long and mediocre bore with a crappy script that didn't give a damn about almost any of the characters, overacting actors, and some surprisingly stripped-down stunts (they looked like backdrops during the attack on Pearl Harbor) and action scenes that only had juice here and there. Forget humor or anything fresh altogether, this is as much a disappointment from my beloved Roland Emmerich as 10,000 BC was the other day. Bay's Pearl Harbor is an order of magnitude better, though it's no gem either.
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The ideal definition of a three-star film. You watch the central battle – an aggregation of pixels and an abundance of CGI-rendered frames – and catch yourself thinking: I’d rather play computer games than passively watch them. But then you get used to it, and ultimately you’re prepared to admit that the way in which the story is told does, rather surprisingly, have the qualities of an acceptable historical drama. We’re told a rather sparse backstory, which is for the better, and with the exception of the ending, Emmerich doesn’t force unpleasant pathos down our throats, so the net result is noticeably better than (if you allow the comparison) Bay’s Pearl Harbor. The latter was primarily a chick flick, whereas this is a sober and reasonable take on a major event of World War II in the Pacific theater. Nothing groundbreaking, but not a catastrophe either; I’d say Emmerich passes with flying colors. PS: Ed Skrein, well-known for being typecast as a villain, shows he can play nice guys too, when he wants to. Except when he’s chewing like a ruminant (at the beginning of this film) – then you want to punch him in the face :o).
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A portrait of a major military event composed in a typical Emmerich fashion, where, thanks to the incredibly complex dosing of information, the viewer never loses their bearings and celebrates a famous victory with a lot of characters, who, thanks to the likeable faces of the actors, manage to generate sincere sympathies. The first half is actually very good and sweeping, but then the pace gradually starts to grind and by the end its only played for effect, without the epic flights through almost certain death leaving anything deep to the viewer. But Emmerich has a very firm hand and it’s very watchable, though at the same time confirms that he’s better when he takes things more lightly, as proven, among others, by the most entertaining scene with John Ford. 70%
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Looking back on my reviews of Roland Emmerich's films, I've given all the pieces I've seen three stars. His films should be seen (at least) for the first time in the cinema, otherwise the inherent audiovisual charm is lost and the shallow dialogue and simple script come to the surface. Midway is a shining example. All the action scenes looked good on the big screen and were mostly clear and believable - I couldn’t breath during the raids on the battleships. For an ahistorical person like me, the film gives an overview of a few key events of WWII. I can't say that I found any of the characters unlikeable, but at the same time I can't say that I strongly sympathized with any of them. Midway will never become an icon of the war genre, but it doesn't offend and it works in the cinema.
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I would never have believed that I would ever write this, but... Good old Bay's Pearl Harbor. Midway is an example of horrible non-art, even by Emmerich's standards. And that surprisingly includes the technical aspect, which usually saves him. I don't remember any film with such horrible dialogue, such poor acting by excellent actors (let alone non-actors). CGI is overused and lame here. And so there are common scenes where the actors do not fit into the picture or when the ships/aircraft/islands/clouds in the background are so scattered and blurry that even many retro movies would be ashamed of it. An unbelievable goof for a film that is nothing but effects. When they are no longer babbling and saying one cliché after another with a straight face, then there is action. Frequent, excessive, dumb. It's closer to X-Wings battling TIE Fighters than anything historical that would be at least partially rooted in reality and the laws of physics. There is so much extreme craziness going on here all the time that if someone put a reverse gear on the plane and just flew backwards, it wouldn't seem out of place at all. That is, action that's unwatchable both visually and due to its content and uncharismatic characters from the ranks of the supremely unlikable. Compared to Emmerich´s other movies, it's not a clear guilty pleasure, because this time it's not (un)intentionally stupid, it's just desperately unwatchable and annoyingly long. The only slightly decent storyline is the one involving Yamamota/Nimitz, but that's all.
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