WWII has been called one of the most impactful and violent wars of all time. Given how the war unfolded, there is a reason that those who lived during that time are referred to as “The Greatest Generation”. A large part of the United States’ population were seen as those who put country first, whether on the battlefield or in the factories. Some even pitched it by rationing everyday items to get the surplus for the war effort. The Battle of Midway was one of the most talked-about conflicts of the War, and it is now the subject of a new film from Roland Emmerich (White House Down). Starring Ed Skrein (Deadpool), Patrick Wilson (Insidious), Luke Evans (Ma), Woody Harrelson (The People Vs Larry Flynt), Dennis Quaid (The Rookie), Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) and Jun Kunimura (The Witness), this film chronicles how America tried to stay neutral in WWII, but after being brought in because of what happened at Pearl Harbor, there is also the story of the events that led up to the title battle itself as one of the biggest and most relevant to American victory naval battles in WWII.
The cinematography style is fine, keeping the look accurate with CGI that illustrates the battle seen very well that dropped me right in the middle of the action. The cast is good here, with the story going back and forth between Skrein as Lieutenant Best, Quaid as Vice Admiral Halsey, and Harrelson as Admiral Nimitz. If I have one gripe, it would be that as much as I love Harrelson as an actor, I do not think he was the best person for this role, especially physically
At two hours and eighteen minutes, I think that this was not enough time to tell the complete story. There are a lot of small details needed to tell the entire tale, but it felt rushed (spending less than a minute to tell a side story that easily could have been three to five minutes). I commend them for trying to show the whole story of battle, but even in its realism that “war is hell,” there could have been a bit more for me, so I will recommend this film as matinee or Saturday afternoon showing in the theaters.