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''Midway'' is a 2019
war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
about the
Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under ...
, a turning point in the Pacific Theater of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The film was directed by
Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry. His films, most of wh ...
, who also produced the film with
Harald Kloser Harald Kloser (born 9 July 1956) is an Austrian film composer, producer and screenwriter. Since his critical and commercial breakthrough in 2005, in which he won the BMI Film Music Award for both of his scores for ''Alien vs. Predator'' and ''Th ...
, and was written by Wes Tooke. The film stars
Ed Skrein Edward George Skrein (; born 29 March 1983) is a British actor, film director, screenwriter and rapper. He gained experience as an actor in independent films or television series. In the years that followed, he became known for portraying Daario ...
,
Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
,
Luke Evans Luke George Evans (born 15 April 1979) is a Welsh actor and singer. He began his career on the stage, performing in many of London's West End productions such as ''Rent'', ''Miss Saigon'', and '' Piaf'' before making his film breakthrough in ...
,
Aaron Eckhart Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his h ...
,
Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...
,
Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy (Mandy Moore song), Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her de ...
,
Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...
,
Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in '' Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in '' Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Ke ...
,
Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...
and
Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
. The film was a passion project of Emmerich's, and he had trouble getting financial support for the film before finally raising sufficient funds and officially announcing the project in 2017. Much of the cast joined in summer 2018, and filming began in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
that September. Some filming also took place in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. With a production budget of $100million, it is to date one of the most expensive
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
s of all time. ''Midway'' was theatrically released by
Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
in the United States on November8, 2019 and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals but criticized the screenplay. The film was a
box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
, grossing only $126 million worldwide against a $100 million budget.


Plot

In December 1937 in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, American naval attaché intelligence officer Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Layton and his counterpart are discussing the US and Japanese positions in the Pacific Ocean during a state function. Layton is warned by Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...
that if the US threatens the Japanese oil supply, then the Japanese will take immediate action. After the US cuts off Japan's oil supply, the Japanese use their carrier fleet to strike at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The attack leads the US to enter
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Naval aviator Lieutenant
Dick Best Dick Best (born 22 September 1954) is a former rugby union coach, and current journalist. Best was Director of Rugby at London Irish. He coached the England national team. England won 13 and lost two of the 17 games played when Best was their c ...
and the Air Group (CAG) of the carrier fail to find the Japanese carrier fleet, exacerbating his rivalry with his commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Eugene E. Lindsey. Admiral Yamamoto, with the support of Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, proposes his most audacious plan yet—the invasion of
Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
using the four available carriers of the "
Kido Butai The , also known as the ''Kidō Butai'' ("Mobile Force"), was a name used for a combined carrier battle group comprising most of the aircraft carriers and carrier air groups of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the first eight months of the ...
", but are overruled by the
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. ''Enterprise'' launches raids against the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
in February 1942. During an attack by Mitsubishi G3M Nell bombers, one crippled Nell turns back towards the ship in a suicide ramming attempt, but Aviation Machinist's Mate Third Class
Bruno Gaido Bruno Peter Gaido (21 Mar 1916 – 15 June 1942) was an American aviation machinist mate first class during World War II. While flying as a gunner on a SBD Dauntless during the Battle of Midway, he was shot down and captured by Imperial Japanes ...
shoots the aircraft down from a parked Dauntless. The crashing bomber slices Gaido's Dauntless in half, but he survives. Vice Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, impressed by Gaido's courage, promotes him to Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class. In April 1942, following Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle 's raid on the Japanese mainland, Yamamoto, Yamaguchi and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo are finally allowed to begin their plan to attack Midway. In May 1942, following the
Battle of the Coral Sea The Battle of the Coral Sea, from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia. Taking place in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, the batt ...
, Layton, along with
Joseph Rochefort Joseph John Rochefort (May 12, 1900 – July 20, 1976) was an American naval officer and cryptanalyst. He was a major figure in the United States Navy's cryptographic and intelligence operations from 1925 to 1946, particularly in the Battle of M ...
and his cryptology team, begin intercepting messages concerning a location the Japanese identify as "AF." Layton speaks with Admiral
Chester Nimitz Chester William Nimitz (; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral in the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet, and Commander in C ...
, who informs him that Washington believes "AF" to be a target in the South Pacific. Layton disagrees, believing the intended target to be Midway Atoll. After meeting with Rochefort, Nimitz instructs the team to find a way to prove that "AF" is Midway definitively. After Layton instructs Midway to telegraph in the clear (unencrypted) that they are suffering a water shortage, cryptologists working for Rochefort intercept Japanese communications concerning water shortages on "AF," confirming that "AF" is indeed Midway. In preparation for an ambush of the Japanese fleet, Nimitz orders carriers and ''Enterprise'' recalled from the Coral Sea and demands that the damaged be made ready for combat operations. During the preparations, Best is briefly demoralized after one of his proteges crashes during a takeoff. Still, he receives encouragement from the Commander of the Air Group (CAG) of the Enterprise, Wade McCluskey. Best and Lindsey set aside their differences and work together to prepare for the attack. Halsey is put on
shore leave Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is also known as "liberty" within the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. During the Age of Sail, shore leave was often abused by the ...
by Nimitz after receiving a bad case of the shingles and is temporarily replaced by Raymond A. Spruance. On June 4, the Japanese launch an air attack against Midway. Initial attempts by US land-based aircraft to strike at the Japanese fleet carriers fail. However, Nagumo and Captain Genda are left shaken by the Americans' unexpected bravery when one
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
narrowly misses the bridge of the in its attempt to ram the carrier. The Japanese fleet learns of the presence of the American carriers. American submarine unsuccessfully attacks a Japanese carrier and is chased off by Japanese destroyer . Lindsey and other American torpedo squadrons attack the Japanese fleet but are shot down. Realizing that the Americans' attacks are preventing the fleet from launching their counterstrike, Yamaguchi orders Nagumo to launch his strike as soon as possible. Despite suffering from respiratory issues from breathing a bad mix of oxygen, Best refuses to leave his men behind and leads his and McCluskey's squadrons into battle. Upon spotting the ''Arashi'', McClusky correctly infers the Japanese destroyer is rushing back to the main Japanese fleet and leads his planes to follow its course. Arriving to find the Japanese
Combat Air Patrol Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...
out of position due to the previous torpedo attacks, the dive-bombers score several hits on ''Akagi'', and , resulting in fires and further explosions due to unsecured ordinance. Nagumo, demoralized and in a state of shock, is persuaded by Genda to transfer his flag to a cruiser. Frank Woodrow O'Flaherty and Gaido are shot down, picked up by the Japanese, and executed when they refuse to talk. Yamaguchi, aboard , is more willing to fight and launches a strike wave that succeeds in crippling ''Yorktown'', prompting ''Enterprise'' and ''Hornet'' to launch their remaining aircraft. Best leads the squadron, which successfully inflicts severe damage to the ''Hiryu''. Admiral Yamaguchi and Captain Tomeo Kaku go down with their command as ''Hiryu'' is
scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
. Yamamoto receives news that his carrier force has been destroyed. After learning that the American fleet has withdrawn, thus depriving him of the chance to use his main force of battleships to win a night battle against the American fleet, he orders a general withdrawal. At Pearl Harbor, Rochefort intercepts the Japanese order to withdraw and passes it to Layton, who then informs Nimitz. Meanwhile, Best is discharged from the Navy for his lung problems and decides to return home to his wife and daughter, who are both overjoyed to see that he survived.


Cast


Allies


Japanese


Civilians


Production

On May 23, 2017, it was reported that
Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the industry. His films, most of wh ...
would be directing the World WarII film ''Midway.'' Due to its potential lofty budget (with estimates putting its needed cost at $125million), Emmerich had trouble getting the film greenlit. When no major studio would bankroll the project, he cut down on potential battle sequences and turned to individuals for the funds, resulting in $76million; he then got an additional $24million in equity, mostly from Chinese investors, resulting in the film's $100million budget. It is one of the most costly
independent films An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
ever made. Emmerich had previously attempted to mount the film at
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
in the 1990s, with
William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...
becoming interested in the project. However, as with the final rendition, executives balked at the proposed $100million budget ($152million by 2019 inflation), and Emmerich moved on to direct '' The Patriot''.
Harald Kloser Harald Kloser (born 9 July 1956) is an Austrian film composer, producer and screenwriter. Since his critical and commercial breakthrough in 2005, in which he won the BMI Film Music Award for both of his scores for ''Alien vs. Predator'' and ''Th ...
also produced the film. In April 2018,
Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
and
Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy (Mandy Moore song), Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her de ...
joined the ensemble cast for the film. In July 2018,
Luke Evans Luke George Evans (born 15 April 1979) is a Welsh actor and singer. He began his career on the stage, performing in many of London's West End productions such as ''Rent'', ''Miss Saigon'', and '' Piaf'' before making his film breakthrough in ...
was cast in the film to play Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky, who was awarded the Navy Cross for his role in the Battle of Midway. Robby Baumgartner was hired as
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
. August saw the additions of
Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...
,
Ed Skrein Edward George Skrein (; born 29 March 1983) is a British actor, film director, screenwriter and rapper. He gained experience as an actor in independent films or television series. In the years that followed, he became known for portraying Daario ...
,
Aaron Eckhart Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his h ...
,
Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...
,
Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in '' Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in '' Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Ke ...
,
Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include '' Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...
, and others to the cast.
Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...
, Alexander Ludwig, and Brandon Sklenar were cast in September. Filming began on September5, 2018, in
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...
. It was also shot in
Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
. In November 2018, it was announced that VFX company
Scanline VFX Scanline VFX is a global visual effects and animation company founded 1989 in Munich. The studio is led by VFX Supervisor Stephan Trojansky. The company has 7 locations including Munich, Stuttgart, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Montreal, London, and Se ...
will be the main VFX vendor, and that
Pixomondo Pixomondo (PXO) is an Academy and Emmy award-winning international visual effects and virtual production company with studios in Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and London. The company provides virtual production ...
had signed on to provide additional visual effects.


Release

The film was released on November 8, 2019,
Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than d ...
weekend.


Marketing

A teaser poster for the film was released on June4, 2019, which was also the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Midway. A set of 13 still photographs depicting scenes from the film was released on June26, 2019, and the first trailer for the film was released the following day (June27). The second and final trailer of the film was released on September12, 2019, with the film's theatrical poster on September25. All-in-all, Lionsgate spent around $40million promoting the film.


Home media

''Midway'' was released on
Digital HD A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album. The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy (typically a DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, or Ultra HD Blu-ray disc) wit ...
on February4, 2020, and on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
on February18, 2020.


Reception


Box office

''Midway'' grossed $56.8million in the United States and Canada, and $68.5million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $125.4million, against a production budget of $100million. In the United States and Canada, ''Midway'' was released alongside '' Doctor Sleep'', '' Playing with Fire'', and ''
Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records International, CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side and B-side, A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK ...
'', and was projected to gross around $15million from 3,242 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $6.3million on its first day (including $925,000 from Thursday night previews). It went on to debut to $17.5million, beating box office expectations and upsetting projected winner ''Doctor Sleep'' by finishing first at the box office. In its second weekend the film made $8.8million, finishing second behind newcomer ''
Ford v Ferrari ''Ford v Ferrari'' (titled ''Le Mans '66'' in some European countries) is a 2019 American sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Damon and Christian ...
'', before making $4.7million and finishing in fifth in its third weekend.


Critical response

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews and an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "''Midway'' revisits a well-known story with modern special effects and a more balanced point of view, but its screenplay isn't quite ready for battle." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at
PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a film ...
gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 58% saying they would definitely recommend it. Barry Hertz of ''
The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' gave the film a score of 2/4 stars, describing it as "a Second World War epic that runs a comparatively paltry 138 minutes yet feels about five times as long", concluding that the film was "a choppy bore, its main source of intrigue centred around whatever New Jersey-ese accent British actor Ed Skrein is attempting as dive bomber Richard Best." Michael O'Sullivan of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' gave the film a score of 2.5/4 stars, saying that it "tells a story that’s vividly and viscerally rendered, with all the entertainment value of a big, old-fashioned war movie", but added: "the kiss-kiss never really registers with quite the same impact as the bang-bang." Wendy Ide of ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' gave the film a score of 2/5 stars, writing: "Every tired war movie cliche is unearthed in a film that brings nothing new but will no doubt please fans of men in uniform yelling at explosions." Paul Byrnes of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' gave the film a score of 3/5 stars, describing it as "one of oland Emmerich'sbetter films", but added: "There are a number of earlier versions to pick from, including John Ford's original 18-minute Oscar-winning documentary. We didn't need a new one, unless he had something new to say or a new way to say it. To both questions, the answer is no." Owen Gleiberman of ''Variety'' wrote: "The film's drama is B-movie basic. But the destructive colliding metal-on-metal inferno of what war is what makes ''Midway'' a picture worth seeing." Kenneth Turan of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' described the film as being "so square, so old-school and old-fashioned, it almost feels avant-garde", adding: "It aims to celebrate heroism, sacrifice, determination and grit, and if you don’t like that it really does not care."


Historical accuracy

While the film takes some artistic license, Emmerich and Tooke were both adamant about being historically accurate, and ''Midway'' received praise from some combat veterans and historians for being more accurate of events than '' Midway'' (1976) and ''
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
'' (2001).
Naval History and Heritage Command The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...
director and retired Navy Rear Admiral Sam Cox said: "Despite some of the 'Hollywood' aspects, this is still the most realistic movie about naval combat ever made." Several seemingly "Hollywood-ized" events depicted in the film, such as
Bruno Gaido Bruno Peter Gaido (21 Mar 1916 – 15 June 1942) was an American aviation machinist mate first class during World War II. While flying as a gunner on a SBD Dauntless during the Battle of Midway, he was shot down and captured by Imperial Japanes ...
sprinting into a parked plane in an effort to shoot down a crippled plane attempting to crash into the ''Enterprise'', then getting on-spot promoted, occurred as shown, though according to ''USA Today'', "Gaido hid after shooting the plane down, afraid he was going to get in trouble for leaving his battle station. 'They had to hunt him down and bring him to Halsey', says etired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Samuel J. Cox, director of the Naval History and Heritage Command" The film depicts the naval attack on the Marshall Islands (February 1, 1942) correctly.


See also

* ''Midway'' (1976 film) * ''Pearl Harbor'' (film) * ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' (1970 film)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Midway 2019 2010s English-language films 2010s war films 2010s historical films 2019 films 2019 independent films Action films based on actual events American World War II films American epic films American historical films American independent films Canadian World War II films Canadian epic films Canadian historical films Canadian independent films Centropolis Entertainment films Cultural depictions of Isoroku Yamamoto Entertainment One films Films about the Battle of Midway Films about the Doolittle Raid Films about naval aviation Films about submarine warfare Films about the United States Army Air Forces Films about the United States Navy in World War II Films directed by Roland Emmerich Films scored by Harald Kloser Films set in 1937 Films set in 1941 Films set in 1942 Films set in China Films set in Hawaii Films set in Honolulu Films set in the Marshall Islands Films set in the Pacific Ocean Films set in Tokyo Films set on aircraft Films set on aircraft carriers Films set in the United States Minor Outlying Islands Films shot in Honolulu Films shot in Montreal Japan in non-Japanese culture 2010s Japanese-language films Lionsgate films Pacific War films Pearl Harbor films Summit Entertainment films War epic films World War II aviation films World War II films based on actual events World War II naval films 2010s American films 2010s Canadian films