Midway (2019)

The story of the Battle of Midway, told by the leaders and the sailors who fought it.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writer:

Wes Tooke

Stars:

Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ed Skrein	...	Dick Best
Patrick Wilson	...	Edwin Layton
Woody Harrelson	...	Chester W. Nimitz
Luke Evans	...	Wade McClusky
Mandy Moore	...	Ann Best
Luke Kleintank	...	Clarence Dickinson
Dennis Quaid	...	William 'Bull' Halsey
Aaron Eckhart	...	Jimmy Doolittle
Keean Johnson	...	James Murray
Nick Jonas	...	Bruno Gaido
Etsushi Toyokawa	...	Isoroku Yamamoto
Tadanobu Asano	...	Tamon Yamaguchi
Darren Criss	...	Eugene Lindsey
Brandon Sklenar	...	George 'Tex' Gay
Jake Manley	...	Willie West

Storyline

MIDWAY centers on the Battle of Midway, a clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy which marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. The film, based on the real-life events of this heroic feat, tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome the odds.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two | battle of midway | war at sea | warplane | u.s. military | 

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Taglines:

The battle that turned the war.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of war violence and related images, language and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although Halsey's skin rash is referred to briefly in the film, it was so severe by the time of Midway he lost 20 pounds and was suffering from insomnia due to the chronic irritation. Nimitz was reportedly so shocked by Halsey's appearance that he had no choice but to replace him with Spruance for the upcoming engagement. Still, Halsey was devastated he would not be leading the fleet into battle and called it "the most grievous disappointment in my career".

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Goofs

O'Flaherty and Gaido are shown on board the Japanese destroyer Makigumo. Refusing to answer questions, Gaido is thrown overboard with weights tied to him. This happens rather quickly from their capture to execution. Minor point, both were kept on board for several days before being thrown overboard.

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Quotes

Bruno Gaido: [to his Japanese captors, last line] You know, I had a lot of friends in Pearl Harbour... so how's about you go fuck yourself?

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Crazy Credits

The end credits are played over black and white footage of the ballroom singer (played by Ana Maria Lombo who is also known as Annie Trousseau) in the Honolulu officer's club seen earlier in the film performing the entire song "All or Nothing At All".

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Connections

Remake of Midway (1976)

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Soundtracks

Jersey Bounce
Performed by Ana Maria Lombo (as Annie Trousseau)
Music written by Tiny Bradshaw, Edward Johnson (as Eddie Johnson), Bobby Plater
Lyrics written by Buddy Feyne
Courtesy of Music Sales Corporation
Arranged by Dan Reckard
Produced by Ana Maria Lombo

User Reviews

Hollywood actually made a decent war movie without pushing a political agenda

This is probably the first time in over 50 years Hollywood made a solid war movie without inserting a sappy, contrived romantic sub-plot, pushing some radical political agenda, or re-writing history. The movie is good. The dialogue is believable, natural, and convincingly delivered in almost all cases.

While no movie is perfectly accurate historically - historians don't even agree on much, so who is to say - the few errors here are trivial and immaterial to the how events progressed. As somebody who is a buff on this period of the early Pacific war - reading every book by Prange, Lord, and many others - I was very impressed.

I went into this movie expecting the worst from Hollywood, but this was their best historical piece in generations. Even the casting seemed to echo the real people in looks and demeanor.

The Japanese point of view wasn't neglected either. While I can't say whether the Japanese dialogue was believable or well-delivered, by all outward appearances this acting was also top notch. The similarity between the real Admiral Nagumo and the actor was particularly striking. They made the right call in using solid Japanese actors speaking Japanese.

The accurate portrayal of the friction between the Imperial Navy and Imperial Army with Emperor Hirohito almost powerless to restrain the militarists was very refreshing. This was a very important, complex contributing factor to the war. Few outside Japan and some narrow historical circles ever learn about this dynamic.

About the worst I can say about this movie is the pace was too fast. Unless stretched into an 8 hour mini-series, I can't imagine they could have avoided this. With my background, I could fill in gaps and context the movie seemed to miss. Others might be left confused. Even though not well-read on this chapter of history, my spouse followed the storyline without issue and really enjoyed the movie as entertainment.

Kudos to the producers, writers, actors, and entire crew. This was a job well-done and a fitting tribute to heroes like Layton and Best.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English Japanese Mandarin

Release Date:

8 November 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Midway

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,897,419, 10 November 2019

Gross USA:

$56,846,802

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$126,696,475

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Centropolis Entertainment, Bona Film Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1