Midway (2019)

Last night my wife and I went to see the new Roland Emmerich film Midway. Now, Emmerich doesn't have the best track record as a director but, this one looked pretty good from the trailers. The film, as the title would suggest, is about the Battle of Midway in 1942 and it stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Tadanobu Asano.

The movie covers a lot of ground: It starts out before the United States got involved in WWII, takes us through the attack on Pearl Harbor, and of course the lead-up to and eventual Battle of Midway. The movie crams a lot into it's 2hr and 18min runtime which means it was never boring but, by contrast, it did feel a bit clunky at times. However, even with the occasionally odd pacing I feel that, outside of 1996's Independence Day, this is probably Emmerich's best film. It's a slick production and, although none of the acting is great but, its good enough.

I'm generally a fan of war movies and I think if given the choice between the two, I prefer the 1976 Midway film starring Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda over this one. That being said, I still had a pretty good time watching this film. Overall, I liked it but didn't love it. So consider this a light-recommend.

3 out of 5

Today's Movie: Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect going into this one. I had seen some trailers but didn't look into the movie much ahead of time. In fact, if you would've asked me a few months ago to gauge my excitement for this movie, I probably would have said something to the effect of "It looks like a typical WWII movie, but I'll probably check it out". It's safe to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

The film is based on the true story of a 'conscientious objector' named Desmond Doss (played by Andrew Garfield) who enlists in the Army because he sees it as his duty to serve despite not only refusing to kill, but to even carry a weapon. He instead becomes a medic and, armed with only courage, determination, and his faith in God, he bravely saves the lives of 75 injured soldiers. All the acting, from Andrew Garfield, to Vince Vaughn, to Sam Worthington, to Teresa Palmer is solid throughout and I found the story really compelling.

Overall, if you want to see something that is well acted, well written, well directed, inspirational, with intense battlefield scenes, and really good cinematography then you need to see Hacksaw Ridge. Unfortunately, because it's directed by Mel Gibson this one probably won't get the award recognition it deserves, but it really is a fantastic movie. Once we get to the end of the year I plan to write a "10 Best Film of 2016" list, and this one is likely to make that list.

I give this one a 5 out of 5.
Go check it out, you won't be disappointed.


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