I've been fascinated by the battle of Midway since I read a novel in grade school called "Flight Deck" by an author named Robb White. Mr. White had actually been there so while the book was geared toward adolescents he knew what he was talking about and the detail was excellent.
One of the things that's always haunted me about this battle was the number of aircraft crews that were lost because they were shot down, survived but were never found (this story) or ran out of fuel before they were able to return to their carriers, something that occurred more than you'd like to think in this battle. I read somewhere that the last crew picked up in a life raft was found nine days after the battle. The thought of all the men who were never found and died slow, lonely and horrible deaths either in the water or in life rafts has always stuck with me.
That's what this movie tried to portray by focusing on one SBD Dauntless crew who were seen to land in the water but were never found. There's an attempt at back stories but they're very poorly written and aren't very effective. The main thing the movie is trying to portray are the fates of all those lost men. So when I read other reviews here that complain about the movie not focusing on the actual battle or there being "too much water" I have to wonder if those reviewers actually got what this movie was about. Seems that they really didn't.
I'm glad someone tried to present a story about all those lost flyers. I just wish it had been better than what this movie is. The acting is terrible throughout, Other than C. Thomas Howell and Judd Nelson (neither of whom did a great job either) I've never heard of any of the actors here. The story lines are poorly written and developed and as already stated here multiple times, the dialogue is bad, to the point of being cringe worthy at times. The dynamic between Nelson's admiral and the Enterprises captain is terrible and completely unrealistic to actual events. The crew of the Catalina are mostly caricatures of what the actors thought sailors in the 1940's would act like when if fact they come off more like 1950's greasers. And this may sound a bit petty but most of the main characters were a bit odd looking. I can't really put my finger on exactly why, they just were. The pilot who ended up in the water looked like he'd botoxed his entire face prior to filming. The Catalina pilot looked like his eyebrows and five o'clock shadow were painted onto his face. Not a major point but just something that added to the lousy impression you got while watching the movie.
The historical accuracy as far as the aircraft and ships go was fine, though the CGI left a lot to be desired. The interactions between the characters was another story, it didn't come across as very authentic to the period or very sincere but with so much bad writing and bad acting it was kind of hard to tell. I'm glad someone thought this story was worth telling because it is, I just wish it had been done better, a lot better.
One of the things that's always haunted me about this battle was the number of aircraft crews that were lost because they were shot down, survived but were never found (this story) or ran out of fuel before they were able to return to their carriers, something that occurred more than you'd like to think in this battle. I read somewhere that the last crew picked up in a life raft was found nine days after the battle. The thought of all the men who were never found and died slow, lonely and horrible deaths either in the water or in life rafts has always stuck with me.
That's what this movie tried to portray by focusing on one SBD Dauntless crew who were seen to land in the water but were never found. There's an attempt at back stories but they're very poorly written and aren't very effective. The main thing the movie is trying to portray are the fates of all those lost men. So when I read other reviews here that complain about the movie not focusing on the actual battle or there being "too much water" I have to wonder if those reviewers actually got what this movie was about. Seems that they really didn't.
I'm glad someone tried to present a story about all those lost flyers. I just wish it had been better than what this movie is. The acting is terrible throughout, Other than C. Thomas Howell and Judd Nelson (neither of whom did a great job either) I've never heard of any of the actors here. The story lines are poorly written and developed and as already stated here multiple times, the dialogue is bad, to the point of being cringe worthy at times. The dynamic between Nelson's admiral and the Enterprises captain is terrible and completely unrealistic to actual events. The crew of the Catalina are mostly caricatures of what the actors thought sailors in the 1940's would act like when if fact they come off more like 1950's greasers. And this may sound a bit petty but most of the main characters were a bit odd looking. I can't really put my finger on exactly why, they just were. The pilot who ended up in the water looked like he'd botoxed his entire face prior to filming. The Catalina pilot looked like his eyebrows and five o'clock shadow were painted onto his face. Not a major point but just something that added to the lousy impression you got while watching the movie.
The historical accuracy as far as the aircraft and ships go was fine, though the CGI left a lot to be desired. The interactions between the characters was another story, it didn't come across as very authentic to the period or very sincere but with so much bad writing and bad acting it was kind of hard to tell. I'm glad someone thought this story was worth telling because it is, I just wish it had been done better, a lot better.