Midway (2019)

Starring: Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Mandy Moore, Luke Kleintank, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Keean Johnson, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa, Tadanobu Asano, Darren Criss
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, War, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The American and Japanese forces fight a decisive battle in the Pacific theater, at Midway Island.

Review:

Tim: I'll always be a fan of Roland Emmerich. Sure, his movies have often strayed into ridiculous territory, but Independence Day is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I loved Stargate, The Patriot, and The Day After Tomorrow. Unfortunately, Midway doesn't reach the heights of his best movies. However, it's still a good film. It's entertaining and does a reasonably effective job of of telling the true story about the battle of Midway.

Perhaps the film's greatest strength is the visual depiction of this battle. While the use of CGI is a bit heavy, it's still an impressive visual film. I do wish the movie was grounded in more practical effects- it would have made the movie feel more realistic. As this was an actual historical event, the best course of action would be to use practical effects when possible. Unfortunately, that's fiscally impossible for a movie like this, so we get a heavier use of visual effects. While some of these are a bit too slick and clean, for the most part, they work. Emmerich is able to convey what the battle was like- whether that's seeing the dogfighting amidst flak, the carriers and destroyers, or the submarines and their torpedo warfare. The movie pulls you into the battle and those scenes were effective enough to keep you engaged. The film is probably a bit too long at 2 hours and 18 minutes, but the battle scenes are engaging enough that the movie doesn't feel unnecessarily long.

Emmerich has always been a strong visual director. That's been his great strength and it's true throughout all his movies. He's always had more trouble with the human elements. When he is able to tell a believable story with relatable characters, his movies succeed. When his films offer up cliched characters that have stilted and illogical dialogue, his movies stink. While this movie does occasionally get uncomfortably close to crossing over, it mostly stays on the former side. I don't think any of the characters as presented were wonderful, complex characters that drew you into them, they at least weren't forced and absurd. It probably helped that the movie worked hard to tell stories about actual human beings, grounded in historical events. That helps both the characters and the movie as a whole.

The cast was interesting. It's an extensive cast and featured some great actors. It also featured some average ones. We can start with the positives. I enjoyed Patrick Wilson in his role. It felt obvious he was working hard to play a real person, but his performance was solid and he was believable in his role. I loved seeing Dennis Quaid team with Emmerich again. His role is clearly a supporting one, but the movie benefits from his presence. Woody Harrelson is such a fantastic actor, it was a little disappointing to see him so restrained in this role. Still, you can't fault his acting. Luke Evans and Mandy Moore were fine in supporting roles, but neither made a huge impact or made you feel much for their characters. I was so glad to see Aaron Eckhart, but his role is a footnote in this film. His character was historically important, but existed on the periphery of the battle of Midway. I wish we got more time with his character, although I understand the necessity of limiting his screen time. While I enjoy all of these actors, I can't say a single one of them really shined. They all gave solid performances, but Emmerich never seems that interested in the human side. They feel almost like placeholders- humans did things important to the story and Emmerich covers those, but they feel in service of the battle. If Emmerich could tell better human stories, he'd be unstoppable.

I did want to mention Ed Skrein, who's clearly in the lead role here. I'm not a fan of Skrein- I just don't think he's a good actor. He does feel like the typical actor for Emmerich to leverage- he looks the part, but he's not the guy you turn to when you need a great performance. Skrein doesn't do anything wrong here, his performance is perfectly decent. It's just that he's never great and you don't really believe in his character. Of everyone in the film, Skrein's character felt the least believable. It certainly seems like the this film tried to present all the characters in a believable light, not taking liberties with what these men did in the actual battle. You believe the bulk of the cast. Skrein just makes it harder. Nick Jonas and Darren Criss were fine, I'm not sure they did anything that a dozen other actors couldn't have done.

While it's the human element that's weaker here, I don't want you to think it's bad. It truly isn't. The script pays enough attention to detail and tries for historical accuracy, which makes a difference. The battle scenes are exciting and give you an appreciation for the battle of Midway. While I'm not sure the movie did enough to truly help you understand the scope of this battle, it offered an entertaining and informative look at one of the critical turning points of World War II. We've had some great movies about the battle in the Pacific theater and while I can't include Midway in them, it's a good movie nevertheless.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Battle of Midway, The Patriot