We have awaken a sleeping giant (Midway 2020)

252.
Midway

7/10

There are a couple of war movies in the next couple of months that I wanted to experience in the cinema setting. Midway was the first of these and looked action-packed, to say the least. Focusing on the time of come after the attack on Pearl Habour and getting into the Battle of Midway, I'm far from a historian but littles bits seemed to spark some memories from school. Roland Emmerich gave this movie everything as a director and producer. At first, the stories were that he struggled to get the funding need to create this movie but after some funding, it wasn't long until he was creating a massive ensemble and bringing the movie to life. Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Patrick Wilson, Nick Jonas and Luke Evans to name but a handful will be taking us back to 1941 and hopefully keeping this makeshift history lesson an interesting one. 

We are thrust straight into the fight as Pearl Habour is attacked to set the scene in which we will see the retaliation of the Americans.

We find Patrick Wilson as the main interceptor of messages from the Japanese to find out where they will be striking next, all whilst the trigger happy Americans are looking for any sort of revenge. The 'higher-ups' refuse to believe Wilson's character Layton, who strongly believes that Midway is going to be the next target. The movie switches between the intelligence teams, some kill hungry pilots and good old fashioned Admirals who want to give their pilots the chances they crave. There are some tensions between the higher command and these pilots but as they start to lose their men, the pilots have to step up and Skeirn's character Richard Best is one of the most experienced and I suppose you could say, most reckless, in a good way. The guy has the confidence to take the extra step but also take the rookies under his wing, mind the pun. The movie draws to a close as the pilots finally make their way through the anti-aircraft fire after the intelligence makes their point heard and the Americans catch the Japanese off guard with their plans. Secrets can never stay a secret for long when the right people are listening in. The remaining pilots are given their freedom as Best steps up to take the lead and the final attack of the movie ends with the Japanese retreating and going down with their ships in what honor they have left.  

Although there were plenty of characters in the movie, with a wide range of personalities, we were made to feel like we were following the storyline of Richard Best, the erratic pilot who would soon need to step up to lead his friends as his seniors began to drop. This means that over the next hour, we would watch this guy go from the joker he was shown to be within the first hour, disobeying his senior and not taking things too seriously and then suddenly becoming someone new. He firstly became a worrier behind closed doors after he knew the task ahead and then he stepped up to the plate, earned the respect of the new compatriots who were once his seniors but more importantly, he would start to show them the respect that they deserved. We ended up getting our hero moment out of Best, which we knew was always going to happen.

 Skrein played the part really well and after seeing him as Ajax in Deadpool, the cockiness was once again played in the beginning but the man moved along with Richard Best. Quickly switching to all other characters, it was great to see so many household names on one screen but also that each one was a completely different character from the last. From a stern Lieutenant Commander in Luke Evans, who was not down for anyone's shit, to Dennis Quaid as a Vice Admiral, refusing to leave his men, even though sickness was getting the best from him. We even had a Jonas brother back on the screen as a mechanic who showed bravery in bringing down a suicide bomber, threatening his ship. It was literally all hands on deck. 

Like I have already mentioned, I'm far from a historian and able to claim how historically accurate this movie was from time to time but during the end credits, it was really good to sit and have a little read as each character was shown along with photos of the real gentlemen who the movie was based on. Each had a write but about what would happen next in their lives and what they had sacrificed to keep the freedom of their country.

I really enjoyed this movie for what it was. Compared to something like Pearl Habour which ended up being a bloody love story, this movie was action from beginning to end and that's exactly how you grab my attention when it comes to history and that's why I learn from Indiana Jones, apart from the fourth installment. We did have the breaks from the fighting as it was important for the storyline to show how the intelligence team intercepted the messages from the Japanese, which apart from the attacks that would follow, is clearly the most integral part of the story. The movie reminded me of something that Michael Bay would be proud of with explosions galore, whether they be in the air, on land, on the deck or even at submarine level, there was plenty to go around. Don't go thinking I'm getting carried away though, this was at best a popcorn movie that was a good watch, something that I might watch again when it makes it to the living room screen but a one time watch is enough for the enjoyment and action.