Midway

I was kind of looking forward to a war movie with a classic cut, a big gimmicky spectacle to provide entertainment and escape, and not be completely stupid at the same time. Well, unfortunately, what I got was a very long and mediocre bore with a crappy script that didn't give a damn about almost any of the characters, overacting actors, and some surprisingly stripped-down stunts (they looked like backdrops during the attack on Pearl Harbor) and action scenes that only had juice here and there. Forget humor or anything fresh altogether, this is as much a disappointment from my beloved Roland Emmerich as 10,000 BC was the other day. Bay's Pearl Harbor is an order of magnitude better, though it's no gem either. (2019-11-07)

Looking back on my reviews of Roland Emmerich's films, I've given all the pieces I've seen three stars. His films should be seen (at least) for the first time in the cinema, otherwise the inherent audiovisual charm is lost and the shallow dialogue and simple script come to the surface. Midway is a shining example. All the action scenes looked good on the big screen and were mostly clear and believable - I couldn’t breath during the raids on the battleships. For an ahistorical person like me, the film gives an overview of a few key events of WWII. I can't say that I found any of the characters unlikeable, but at the same time I can't say that I strongly sympathized with any of them. Midway will never become an icon of the war genre, but it doesn't offend and it works in the cinema. (2019-11-12)

I would never have believed that I would ever write this, but... Good old Bay's Pearl Harbor. Midway is an example of horrible non-art, even by Emmerich's standards. And that surprisingly includes the technical aspect, which usually saves him. I don't remember any film with such horrible dialogue, such poor acting by excellent actors (let alone non-actors). CGI is overused and lame here. And so there are common scenes where the actors do not fit into the picture or when the ships/aircraft/islands/clouds in the background are so scattered and blurry that even many retro movies would be ashamed of it. An unbelievable goof for a film that is nothing but effects. When they are no longer babbling and saying one cliché after another with a straight face, then there is action. Frequent, excessive, dumb. It's closer to X-Wings battling TIE Fighters than anything historical that would be at least partially rooted in reality and the laws of physics. There is so much extreme craziness going on here all the time that if someone put a reverse gear on the plane and just flew backwards, it wouldn't seem out of place at all. That is,  action that's unwatchable both visually and due to its content and uncharismatic characters from the ranks of the supremely unlikable. Compared to Emmerich´s other movies, it's not a clear guilty pleasure, because this time it's not (un)intentionally stupid, it's just desperately unwatchable and annoyingly long. The only slightly decent storyline is the one involving Yamamota/Nimitz, but that's all. (2020-09-25)

I hoped that the Americans would finally come to their senses and make a proper war film. CGI is already at such a high level that it should no longer be a problem (there is no need to create models of historical technology, etc.), but it was no good. Well, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the following action scenes were a nice surprise, but Midway didn’t work out so well. There were only four B-26 Marauders on the atoll all of which were the torpedo variant. I don't understand why no F4F fighters were generated, it looked really weird this way. If there’s anything that went well, it was the casting. If someone had told me before watching the film that Woody Harrelson would play Admiral Nimitz, I would have thought they were kidding. Having seen it with my own eyes, I’m amazed. I would like to give a higher rating, but it really pisses me off that the Americans aren’t able to portray the important moments of their short history more realistically. (2020-03-08)

Roland Emmerich directed a film with big battles in which the visual effects occasionally are quite dodgy, but otherwise it's an epic spectacle. It's just that when they are not fighting, Midway is pretty rubbish. Mostly because of poor character work, a dysfunctional attempt to evoke some emotion and pathos, and an inability to make interesting characters out of twenty sailors, pilots, and officers. Fans of big war films won't be offended by Midway, but don't expect anything exceptional either. (2019-11-07)