Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: Roland Emmerich, Roadshow Films, M 138 Minutes.
Roland Emmerich, the director of such blockbusters as ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ and ‘Independence Day’ has made another exhilarating epic which dramatically depicts the remarkable story of the Battle of Midway in 1942 – bettering the 1976 rendition with Charlton Heston.
As the movie opens, intelligence officer Lieutenant Commander Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson 0f ‘The Commuter’) is chatting with Japanese Navy Admiral Yamamoto (Etsushi Toyokawa of ‘Flea-picking Samurai’) after a friendly dinner during which Yamamoto foreshadows a future conflict between Japan and the US.
A few years later on 7 December 1941, Japanese planes attack the American fleet in Pearl Harbor – despite prior warnings sounded by Layton – resulting in extensive loss of life and some 18 ships being sunk, including the Arizona.
The attack is picked up by pilot Dick Best (Ed Skrein of ‘Deadpool’) – from the USS Enterprise on a routine exercise with other pilots – who notifies his superior Wade McClusky (Luke Evans of ‘Immortals’) to ensure there is a retaliatory response.
With Pearl Harbor coming to terms with the devastation, Best attempts to locate his friend on the Arizona as Yamamoto is informed of the US declaration of war while Chester Nimitz (Woody Harrelson of ‘LBJ’) takes charge of the Pacific fleet.
Sensing that the Japanese will strike again, Nimitz engages Layton to provide him with his expert intelligence relating to the next target and he doesn’t disappoint, having involved Joseph Rochefort (Brennan Brown of ‘Focus’) and his team of code-breakers.
It soon becomes clear that the Japanese Navy led by Admirals Yamamoto and Yamaguchi (Tadanobu Asano of ‘Thor-Ragnarok’) intend to attack Midway, unaware of the trap being set and where they will be met by the might of the US military.
Having recently seen the 1976 version, Emmerich’s production is far superior in that it is more realistic and accurate in the re-telling of this historic event – besides the thrilling aerial attack scenes and the bombing of the battleships.
A fundamental difference between both movies is the non-inclusion in the original of Ed Layto,n a real character whose intelligence expertise was particularly crucial in allowing Nimitz to prepare the trap for the Japanese at Midway.
Emmerich has excelled with his thoroughly enjoyable movie and, apart from a great cast that includes Wilson as Layton, Dennis Quaid as Admiral Halsey and Harrelson as Nimitz, there is the director’s special brand of special effects.
Finally, there are the poignant pictures and brief information about the real heroes – especially Layton and Nimitz – involved in the historic battle that changed the course of WW2 in the Pacific.
Vic’s Verdict: 4 Stars
