Midway (2019)

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eisenbahn9
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Midway (2019)

#1

Post by eisenbahn9 » 12 Nov 2019, 20:34

Saw this movie last week and give it a cautionary thumbs up. It's clearly superior to the 1976 Jack Smight version but there are still scenes and dialogue that made me cringe or were unintentionally laughable.

The opening Pearl Harbor sequence leaves one with the impression that Japanese Zero fighters were capable of single-handedly blowing up a battleship, simply by strafing it with machine-gun and cannon fire (I groaned at the number of times Zero fighters were shown coming down to nearly deck level BETWEEN the US battleships with the apparent express mission of taking out USS Arizona's band). I did see what appeared to be a Kate torpedo plane launching it's weapon bow-on to Battleship Row. Interesting tactic. Why aim for the broadside of a stationary warship when you can make it more challenging by trying to hit the skinny end?

The CGI seemed uneven in quality throughout the film. Some scenes were breathtakingly realistic, as when we get a panoramic view of Akagi, Kaga and Soryu burning and billowing huge clouds of dirty brown smoke or when the destruction at Pearl Harbor is viewed from a distance. Dauntless dive-bombers on the American carriers are rendered in loving detail, down to their individual rivets. But other scenes came off as too video game quality, especially the battle sequences.

There are some notable visual gaffes too. When the Japanese carrier strike wave nears Midway atoll to begin its bombing run, I noticed the Nakajima "Kates" (acting as horizontal bombers) had no visible armament on them whatsoever! As in, no bombs attached to their undersides. I just went, "Huh?!?!" Did someone forget their CGI drawing assignment that day? Did no one bother reviewing this footage after completion?

I do give Emmerich (and scriptwriter Wes Tooke) credit for not repeating the long-propagated myth that the Japanese carrier flight decks were packed with planes only minutes away from taking off for a retaliatory strike against the USN carriers. That would have made for a more dramatic finale, but instead we see just a few Zero CAP fighters on the decks prior to the Dauntlesses going into their dives.

The film runs 2hrs 18 minutes but could have been trimmed without any great loss to the story line. The most deserving cut to me was the scene with Hollywood director John Ford, shown with his film crew filming the Japanese bombing attack on Midway. It's a needlessly distracting and rather minor sidebar with no discernible reason for inclusion in the film other than, "Let's throw everything we possibly can into this thing...".

So, overall, it's worth seeing...at least once. But it didn't leave me wanting to re-visit it anytime soon. And that's my usual barometer to gauge terrific absorbing films from so-so average ones. This one rates just a little above average.

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Re: Midway (2019)

#2

Post by OpanaPointer » 12 Nov 2019, 20:42

I took a film class when I was in grad school. The prof knew I helped with the WWII class and I was his go-to "advisor" for war movies. His first question for me was "Have you seen any good war movies?" I replied that I'd give the best ones I had seen a "C-" grade, that being two, maybe three movies. The big screen is usually painful for a knowledgeable person.
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Robert Rojas
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RE: Midway (2019)

#3

Post by Robert Rojas » 13 Nov 2019, 13:20

Greetings to both brother eisenbahn9 and the community as a whole. Howdy E-9! Well sir, in reference to your introductory posting of Tuesday - November 12, 2019 - 10:34am, old yours truly is appreciative of your constructive criticism of this celluloid remake of the year 1976 film epoch bearing the same name. Oh, and by the way, it has been my "understanding" that this film was released under the genre of FICTION AND given some of the crass historical license that we both obviously observed, I CAN SEE WHY! Now, without ruining it for others who have not had the opportunity to sit through the film, for dramatic effect alone, the one scene that has been seared into my soul was the U.S.S. Enterprise steaming into the burning charnel house of post attack Pearl Harbor. It was, at least in my humble opinion anyway, clearly superior to the same scene as portrayed in the year 1970 film of TORA-TORA-TORA. Incidentally, I had the opportunity to sit through this celluloid epoch in an extreme digital venue. Needless to say, there was rarely a dull viewing or listening moment during the course of this two plus hour film. Finally, like yourself, I will also give the remake of the film MIDWAY a cautionary thumbs up - for now anyway. In any case. I would like to bid you an especially copacetic day over in your corner of America's Dairyland known as the State of Wisconsin.

Best Regards,
Uncle Bob :idea: :) :wink: 8-) :thumbsup:
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Re: Midway (2019)

#4

Post by The Ibis » 14 Nov 2019, 15:06

OpanaPointer wrote:
12 Nov 2019, 20:42
The big screen is usually painful for a knowledgeable person.
Quite right. For such people, there is the history chan...oh, nevermind. :lol:
"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided." - Casey Stengel

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Re: Midway (2019)

#5

Post by Delta Tank » 11 Jan 2020, 19:40

To all,

I saw it, I did not like it, and I believe the original film made in 1976 was much better. How, Hollywood could spend all that money on computer generated imagery and then make a lousy film is beyond me. I only saw the new version once, the old version I have watched 20-30 times. The battle scenes were just plain stupid, and if anyone believes that a US Navy dive bombers flown by Lt. Best would pull up and fly just above the deck of a Japanese aircraft carrier and release his bomb just before he flys past his target, this movie is for you!!

Why can’t Hollywood jus make a historically accurate movie and just tell the true story is beyond me!! The real story is good enough! They really didn’t even cover the Japanese side of the battle.

I give this movie a thumbs down! They could of done much, much, much better!

Maybe Hollywood should of hired the guys that wrote “Shattered Sword” as advisors!

Mike

Mike

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Re: Midway (2019)

#6

Post by Rickshaw_665 » 05 Feb 2020, 11:31

Delta Tank wrote:
11 Jan 2020, 19:40
Why can’t Hollywood jus make a historically accurate movie and just tell the true story is beyond me!!
Hollywood is dealing with many things in a movie. One is the issue of historical accuracy and that I'd suggest is the least of their worries. Their is audience expectation, which is a major worry. Technically they have problems with camera angles and fields of view, the lack of realistic and accurate aircraft/ships/vehicles/weapons/uniforms. Finally there is the writing/scripting and so on. Naval battles in particular pose difficult questions. They occur traditionally at long distances and are conducted by either big guns or aircraft. I have yet to see an ultra-realistic movie about a naval or air battle.

Ground combat is easier but the narrow field of view means directors have the actors bunch up and all too often they talk too much to tell the audience what is going on. Only one move I know of overcomes that - "The Odd Angry Shot" which is about a mythical SASR Squadron in South Vietnam. In the field on operations, a minimum of talking and a minimum of bunching occurs. "Long Tan" is another although both suffer from over-directing and bunching of troops in some scenes for "dramatisation" Both are worth watching.

What is required is a director who knows how aircraft and ships operate. Fighters manoeuvre like aircraft, not starfighters. Ships fight like ships, not starships. Aircraft attack like aircraft. Bombs fall like bombs and torpedoes swim like torps do. Even in the 1950s the British tried much better than Americans do in the 21st century it seems. I'd much rather watch "Hunt the Bismarck" 100 times than any of the recent Midway movies.

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Re: Midway (2019)

#7

Post by von thoma » 28 Apr 2021, 23:37

I have never seen so many United States Navy uniforms in a movie, so rumpled and unkempt.
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Re: Midway (2019)

#8

Post by OpanaPointer » 29 Apr 2021, 00:20

von thoma wrote:
28 Apr 2021, 23:37
I have never seen so many United States Navy uniforms in a movie, so rumpled and unkempt.
The Station Hypo code gang were famous for being unkempt, the boss usually wore an old bathrobe.
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Re: Midway (2019)

#9

Post by Ivan1987 » 30 Apr 2021, 22:44

Saw the original a looong time ago, so I can't compare much. But I enjoyed this a lot. Kept me entertained for the whole time, which is more important than 100% accuracy in uniforms. Maybe one out of 50 viewers is going to watch a movie to check on historical accuracy. Not to mention that from what I read about battle of Midway, this movie seemed pretty accurate. And the attack on Japanese carriers was breathtaking.

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Re: Midway (2019)

#10

Post by OpanaPointer » 30 Apr 2021, 22:46

I watched the earlier version just once.
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Mark in Cleveland, Tn.
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Re: Midway (2019)

#11

Post by Mark in Cleveland, Tn. » 01 May 2021, 02:50

OpanaPointer wrote:
30 Apr 2021, 22:46
I watched the earlier version just once.
And *just once* was one time too many.

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Re: Midway (2019)

#12

Post by Mark in Cleveland, Tn. » 01 May 2021, 02:53

Ivan1987 wrote:
30 Apr 2021, 22:44
Saw the original a looong time ago, so I can't compare much. But I enjoyed this a lot. Kept me entertained for the whole time, which is more important than 100% accuracy in uniforms. Maybe one out of 50 viewers is going to watch a movie to check on historical accuracy. Not to mention that from what I read about battle of Midway, this movie seemed pretty accurate. And the attack on Japanese carriers was breathtaking.

Yeah but the thing is.. when you collect and deal in miliatira forever,sadly you watch these new flicks and see the uniform mistakes, weapons mistakes, language weirdness and groan..then as he moviae gets going you start watching just for these pissass mistakes and not pay any attention to the actual scenes and movie

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Re: Midway (2019)

#13

Post by OpanaPointer » 01 May 2021, 13:44

Mark in Cleveland, Tn. wrote:
01 May 2021, 02:50
OpanaPointer wrote:
30 Apr 2021, 22:46
I watched the earlier version just once.
And *just once* was one time too many.
When I was ten I hated war movies that had romantic subplots. "No girls!" As I aged my opinion changed about a lot of things, but not that. :lol:
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Re: Midway (2019)

#14

Post by Delta Tank » 03 May 2021, 03:55

Ivan1987 wrote:
30 Apr 2021, 22:44
Saw the original a looong time ago, so I can't compare much. But I enjoyed this a lot. Kept me entertained for the whole time, which is more important than 100% accuracy in uniforms. Maybe one out of 50 viewers is going to watch a movie to check on historical accuracy. Not to mention that from what I read about battle of Midway, this movie seemed pretty accurate. And the attack on Japanese carriers was breathtaking.
This movie is sooooo bad I would not recommend it to anyone!! The movie is not accurate! The attack on the Japanese carriers is sooo stupid, ridiculous, and asinine that it is impossible to correct!!

Watch the old movie, ignore the stupid scenes involving the girl!! It tells the real story sooooooo much better! Or better yet! Read a book!! I recommend “Shattered Sword” https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Sword- ... 1574889249

Mike

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