CINEMA: Midway (Roland Emmerich, 2019)

Going to the Cinema:

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD

I took my dad to go see the new film out Midway (Roland Emmerich, 2019) which tells the True Story of The Battle of Midway in World War 2. 

The Battle of Midway (4th-7th June 1942):

After Japan hit Pearl Habor and the American's repaid them with the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway happened. This was a major turning point in the Pacific war along with the Battle of Guadalcanal, helping the Allies to win the war against Japan in the Pacific. This battle happened six months after Pearl Habor and this was all fresh in the minds of the soldiers.

Midway (Jack Smight, 1976)

My dad and I decided in preparation for the new film we'd watch the first one together first.

I watched this for the first time on 5th November 2019 with my dad.

He said he hadn't seen this version since he was a kid in the 70s. 

Midway (Roland Emmerich, 2019)

The new adaptation of these historic events of the Battle of Midway.

This is one of the films my dad and I have been looking forward to this year. We are both War Buffs and we do love films that are about real-life war events. I personally really enjoyed this film and was glad that it was quite historically accurate.

In the film, they cover the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raid and the Battle of Midway.


Pearl Harbor
The events that happened on the 7th of December 1941 led to America joining the Allies in the war.

On this day, the Japanese led a surprise preemptive strike on the Naval forces in Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. over 2000 Americans were killed and four of their battleships including the USS Arizona (which we see hit by the Japanese and sunk in the film).

The Doolittle Raid 
This was the first strike where the Americans dropped bombs on the Japanese Island, hitting Tokyo. 

I think they did this quite well in the film.

Aaron Eckhart was a good choice for Doolittle and was able to do him justice. I prefer his portrayal of Doolittle over Alec Baldwin's in Pearl Harbor (Michael Bay, 2001).

The Battle of Midway
This battle had the audience on the edge of their seats.


Emmerich even used a similar shot of a B17 landing on Midway, which was taken from the 1976 film. 

The Dive-Bombing in this film kept me at the edge of my seat, literally. Even though I knew the history of this event I was nervous for the characters, especially during the dive bombings as Emmerich decided to keep the camera close to the characters, creating the tension and suspense where we wonder if the bombs are going to hit the enemy carriers and if the characters will be able to pull the planes up in time.

Protagonist 
Ed Skrein (left) is the main person we follow in the film (I consider him the protagonist of this film).

Lieutenant Dick Best was a Dive Bomber pilot and a squadron leader. He was stationed on the Enterprise and flew a Dauntless along with his co-pilot Murray. He was awarded the Navy Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross  His bomb sunk the Akagi and he bombed the Hiryu. It is believed that Best might be the first American pilot to get two successful bomb hits on the Japanese in one day.

Famous Faces
Hiring the likes of Dennis Quaid (Halsey), Luke Evans (McClusky), Woody Harrelson (Nimitz) and Aaron Eckhart (Doolittle) was a good move for this film.

Ed Skrein has been becoming more famous since playing the antagonist in Deadpool (Tim Miller, 2016). I think he did a fantastic job in this film and kept us in the audience at the edge of our seats during the dives.











At the end of the film, Emmerich put in pictures of the real people and explained what happened to them after the war.

He also dedicated the film to both the American and Japanese who served.