Midway (2019)

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 07/13/2020 at 11:30 • Filed to: midway, movielopnik, Planelopnik

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Midway (2019) popped up on HBO this week, so I clicked on it on a whim. The movie starts with a claim that everything you are about to see is true. And yes, the bullet points of the battle that the film is built around are true. And yes, the main characters were actual people who fought in the battle. And yes, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey did suffer from a terrible rash due to stress, but why is that even remotely important enough to make a big deal about? Ultimately, including those factual points felt like nothing more than ticking the boxes of an historical outline rather than telling a story that is truly worth telling. The attack on Pearl Harbor got lots of time at the beginning, but the Battle of the Coral Sea, which set the stage for Midway and was the first naval battle in history in which no two opposing ships ever sighted each other, got the merest mention. And really, there was no need to spend any time on any of that at all. Actually, one of the things that they really got right in this movie was how ill-fitting and wrinkly  the Navy dress uniforms were back in the day.

Woody Harrelson, with pointer, as Admiral Nimitz

The CGI was average to bad, the acting was clichéd and wooden, the dialog was brainless, and above all, you really never understand just how much of the battle turned on the luck of the Americans catching the Japanese with their pants down after the first Japanese strike on Midway Island. For my money, the 1978 Midway starring Charlton Heston did a much better job of explaining how the battle went down. Of course, once you realize the new Midway is a Roland Emmerich movie, all of these shortcomings make sense. I could go on, but I’ll let this Military Times review speak for me. It does a better job.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

If you really want to understand how the battle went down, I highly recommend Edward Jablonski’s fantastic Airwar (1971), a two-volume set that covers the air war in both Europe and the Pacific. Well written, well researched, and riveting, Airwar is a must read for anybody who is interested in the role of aviation in WWII. Jablonski is my aviation history muse, and the inspiration for the writing I do today. And he knew exactly what to leave out of the history.

feather-throttle-not-hair > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 11:39

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I enjoyed the relative historical accuracy, but the movie was trash. So, very similar overall feelings  down to watching the movie on a whim after seeing it pop up on hbo.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 11:40

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From what I’ve read and heard, it’s a historically accurate (at face value, but c’mon now, we know damn well it’s not all there ) CGI-filled popcorn spectacle not unlike Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor. And just like that crap film, the characters are all one-dimensional stereotypes without any development other than what would’ve been typical for a vindictive and patriotic American in the ‘40s but tuned up a notch or two. Given that it’s by the same people that did Independence Day it’s pretty much Pearl Harbor II: Electric Boogaloo isn’t it.

Why is it so hard to just make a proper historically accurate film these days?? Dunkirk was great!

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 11:47

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I’m glad I didn’t waste 3.99 on amazon to watch it. 

Future next gen S2000 owner > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 11:48

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Must be hard to bowl in that admiral suit.

i86hotdogs > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 11:54

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I was excited to see this movie when I first heard about it. Love me some Pacific theater war movies. Was pretty bummed when I heard the reviews, so I downgraded it to “I’ll watch it if it pops up on streaming somewhere.” Now I may not even watch it after reading your review.

ttyymmnn > i86hotdogs 07/13/2020 at 11:56

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Read the Military Times review. It’s better. It’s like Emmerich made a list of all the factual dots he wanted to cover and then connected them as quickly and arbitrarily as possible. Every line is exposition, since he doesn’t take time to develop the history, and most Americans wouldn’t know it anyway. 

i86hotdogs > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 12:07

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“... at which point I began hoping a plane would unexpectedly fly through the screen and drop its payload on my theater seat.”

That made me audibly laugh

ttyymmnn > i86hotdogs 07/13/2020 at 12:12

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The way our hero drops his bomb at the end is laughably bad. He’s pulled out of his dive and is flying practically level over the carrier. Somehow, the bomb makes a 90 degree turn and pierces the deck. In reality, it would have just skipped off. 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 12:28

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eh...i enjoyed it...but then...im not a history buff and im easily amused

RacinBob > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 12:29

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Don’t forget the battle of California Coast in 1941...

ttyymmnn > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 07/13/2020 at 12:32

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I’m not annoyed by the history. The events and people they chose to depict were accurate, it was just a bad film built around them. And the obscure things like Halsey’s rash got so much attention when it mattered nothing to the battle. In fact, one of the really important things, when the American dive bombers dropped their bombs soon after takeoff due to faulty electronics, was not mentioned. 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 12:35

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when the American dive bombers dropped their bombs soon after takeoff due to faulty electronics, was not mentioned.

eeeeh....wouldnt surprise me if that was entirely intentional...it did kinda come across as one of those movies were murica can do no wrong..tbh...ive gotten so used to ignoring that kinda stuff i hardly notice it anymore...lol

benn454 > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 12:38

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 Halsey was the overall commander of all aircraft carriers in the Pacific, so him being knocked out of the battle before it even started is worth mentioning. Luckily, Spruance filled in admirably (I'm sorry.)

ttyymmnn > RacinBob 07/13/2020 at 12:42

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Great march from that movie.

ttyymmnn > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 07/13/2020 at 12:44

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I see what you’re saying, but when the pilot screwed up his lungs due to the bad oxygen was a case of American foul up. They also showed a lot of American planes getting shot down in utterly futile attacks against the Japanese fleet. The Devastator torpedo bombers were completely obsolete by 1942, and fatally slow on their run in. I also doubt an SBD, no matter how good the pilot, would have been able to outrun and fight against a Zero.

ttyymmnn > benn454 07/13/2020 at 12:45

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No, it’s okay. It just seemed so ham handed the way they dealt with it.

benn454 > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 12:50

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 I think it was a case of "Well, we got Dennis Quaid to play Halsey. We better come up with more screentime so we get our money's worth. "

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 13:20

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I mean ... pew pew pew ... think about it as WW2 Star Wars and it all starts to make more sense.

Ed Skrein’s accent was awful though ... it’s as if his idea of an American accent was trying to talk while chewing a baseball .

RacinBob > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 13:27

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John Williams, the bane of community band brass players. The man who uses brass parts as percussion!

ttyymmnn > RacinBob 07/13/2020 at 13:38

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The bane of professional band brass players. Somehow, I was unavailable to play the all-Williams concert a couple of years ago, but I’ve been told it was a bit like smashing your mouth with a brick.

RacinBob > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 13:45

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Same for me, except I can’t play that fast. 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/13/2020 at 13:51

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dunkirk still causes me to have fits of rage....

not the movies fault tho.... stupid fucking cinema had a popcorn break...right as all the tension building was hitting its peak

really killed the movie....ive not been able to rewatch it yet...i start twitching when i think about it :p

Just Jeepin' > K-Roll-PorscheTamer 07/13/2020 at 13:57

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Dunkirk in its full 70mm IMAX glory was jaw-dropping. Such a great film.

PatBateman > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 18:53

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It’s on HBO?  Sweet.  Another movie that I’ll watch and make my wife go into the other room because of her general disdain of any/all movies that interest me.

InFierority Complex > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 19:25

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Man, I don’t get wanting to be in a military band. I guess it might be one of the few gigs that pays to play full time? I assume they still have to do PT and rifle qualifications and all? Just seems so extra.

InFierority Complex > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 19:31

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Just seems like one of those things where  a straight documentary would be better. It’s on netflix right now but I just can’t get into action movies for the moment.

ttyymmnn > PatBateman 07/13/2020 at 19:46

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Tell her Nick Jonas is in it. Maybe she’ll watch.

ttyymmnn > InFierority Complex 07/13/2020 at 19:57

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It depends on the band, and there are bands at all levels. The President’s Own Marine Band (seen here) is the pinnacle of all service bands. Since they are out for the best players they can find, you don’t have to do basic training if you are accepted and all you do is play your instrument. Rehearse, tour, perform, that’s it. It’s a pretty sweet gig, really. The top Army band is Pershing’s Own, based in DC, and the top USAF band is, unoriginally, the United States Air Force Band, also based in DC. With these bands and others you have to go through boot camp . In the lower bands, when you’re not playing, you’re doing some other task. I taught one kid who was in the band at Fort Hood, and when he wasn’t playing he worked in the armory handing out rifles. I have another friend who played trumpet in the Marines, and played Christmas carols in one of Saddam’s palaces. When he wasn’t playing, he manned a .50 on a truck in a convoy . An IED went off very close to him and he inhaled a bunch of dirt and rocks and kind of messed up his lungs. But he can still play, and now teaches trumpet  at a university . Regardless of the cushiness level, you still have to maintain physical fitness, you still have to remain current in marksmanship (except maybe for the Marine Band). After all, you never know when you have to swap your saxophone for an M-16.

ttyymmnn > InFierority Complex 07/13/2020 at 19:59

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People don’t pay to see documentaries. Your best bet is to read a good account of it, preferably with maps to get a sense of how the battle played out.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 21:53

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i was more excited on supernova of the east part 4

https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-65-supernova-in-the-east-iv/

InFierority Complex > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 22:55

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That kinda how I assumed it went. My only experience with them is meeting some guy that played guitar for the band on Bliss. I’ll admit I had the feeling of”really?”

PatBateman > ttyymmnn 07/13/2020 at 23:32

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Nah.  But if Jason Momoa is, then she’ll watch it without me, in the dark. 

ttyymmnn > PatBateman 07/14/2020 at 00:06

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Are we married to the same woman?

PatBateman > ttyymmnn 07/14/2020 at 09:07

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Twins, most likely.  

f86sabre > ttyymmnn 07/14/2020 at 20:53

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I recall this being a pretty good book discussing the battle, but I read it as a teen.

I would really like to visit Midway.  Seems like a nice place to spend a week and wander around. Maybe read a book. 

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin' 07/15/2020 at 12:15

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I need to see it, but I’m not sure I can take it. I watched Saving Private Ryan once, and I don’t want to see it again.

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn 07/15/2020 at 12:29

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I’ve never seen that, so I don’t know how to compare it. I’m pretty wimpy when it comes to horror films, gore, or other uncomfortably tense situations, but I’d gladly see it again on the giant screen.

It came back to our local 70mm IMAX screen once, hoping it’ll do so again when things are saner . An incredible spectacle.

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin' 07/15/2020 at 12:41

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I’ve also never watched Blackhawk Down . I know what happened, but I don’t want to watch it happen. Pretty sure Dunkirk is on one of our streaming services. I’ll check it out, since I know it has a basically happy ending. The opening D-Day scenes and the ultimate battle scene of Private Ryan are really tough to watch.