Midway (2019)

(Amazon Streaming, December 2020) The nice thing about director Roland Emmerich taking on a World War II movie is that we know what we’re going to get. Even from the title and the opening recreation of the Pearl Harbor attack, Midway’s shape quickly snaps into focus: First, the introduction of the characters through America’s humiliation, and then (after some character “development”), a vengeful final half almost entirely preoccupied with an hour-long recreation of the titular battle as an action sequence. The flaws and qualities of the film are very Emmerichian – he can do a maximalist rendition of the material he’s given, make it fun to watch, and orchestrate a good special-effects showcase… but he’s not going to rewrite dramatic material to higher standards, push his actors into doing more than the strict minimum, or weave in complex visual themes or stylistic direction. So, what you get with Midway is what you can expect from Emmerich’s Midway: A middling script but executed rather well when it comes to the action/CGI bits. Surprisingly, I liked it– I wasn’t going to the film for a history lesson (although I gather that the film is surprisingly more historically accurate than expected once you discount the enthusiastic CGI) and as a WW2 action movie, Midway is very enjoyable. The old-school moral values of the film (honour, duty, country) are generally admirable, especially if you’re looking for a modern re-skin of classic WW2 movies. No, Midway isn’t that remarkable – but I enjoyed when stuff blows up real good.