Nearly 80 years ago, two naval giants clashed in the Pacific. Both fleets of the United States and Japanese navies engaged in one of the most decisive battles of World War II – and the United States emerged triumphant.
Roland Emmerich’s latest film, Midway, attempts to tackle this crucial battle along with the stories of those who fought in it. The film includes a star-studded cast while showing the horrors of war in a collage of CGI-rendered battle sequences. The movie is full of fireballs and plane crashes, but despite all its efforts, Midway will likely be remembered for its onslaught of special effects more than its attempt to honor those who fought in this battle.
Midway tells the story of Lt. Commander Edwin T. Layton (Patrick Wilson), who predicts a coming Japanese attack, only to be rebuffed. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Layton is tasked by Admiral Chester Nimitz (Woody Harrelson) to pinpoint where Japan’s next target will be. The United States proceeds to play a cat-and-mouse game with Japan across the Pacific. All the while, Layton tries to convince his superiors that the next target will be the US airbase at the Midway Islands. As the Japanese fleet closes in, the course of the war rests upon Layton’s shoulders to discover their position before it’s too late.
The most significant problem with Midway is that it tells way too many stories. Every character – from Edwin Layton to Admiral Yamamoto – is given the treatment of a protagonist. There’s a degree of depth with every person the audience meets, which is good, but after meeting so many people, it becomes easy to forget who the main character is. Most of the film itself focuses on Lt. Richard “Dick” Best (Ed Skrein), a Maverick-like character who engages Japanese Zeros and aircraft carriers every time he’s in the cockpit. As the film focuses more on Best’s escapades, Layton falls by the wayside, even though his story is the driving force behind the film. By weaving too many subplots together, Emmerich creates a disorienting jumble of conflicting narratives that hinder the final product.
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If anything, Midway probably should have followed the Black Hawk Down model, where the first 30-minutes of the film allows the audience to bond with real-life people before they’re sent off to war. This might have helped the flow of the story, but Emmerich seemed more interested in cramming in what he could and hoping for the best.
At the same time, I’m not entirely sure what Emmerich was trying to accomplish with Midway. Often with his movies – such as Independence Day or The Patriot – the audience is bombarded with explosive sequences followed by crass one-liners for comedic effect. Midway doesn’t shoot for cheap sarcasm as much as one would expect from Roland Emmerich. There aren’t many patriotic speeches or over-the-top, jingoistic lines, which makes Midway less obnoxious than expected.
Where the film does grow obnoxious, though, is in its usage of special effects. There’s a massive explosion or a plane crash almost every twenty minutes in the 2 hour and 18 minute runtime. As the characters and story grow dull, Emmerich brings out the pyrotechnics to keep the audience interested. This leads me to question Emmerich’s motives in making this film. Was he really trying to tell the story of Midway, or was it just another platform for his fascination with special effects? It seems like a little bit of both, but his overall style of prioritizing special effects over story torpedos the film.
When it comes to introducing audiences to a crucial battle in human history, Roland Emmerich’s Midway misses the mark. It offers a beginner’s take on the engagement and allows viewers to become familiar with key figures. However, too many subplots and special effects hinder the film’s final cut. Emmerich’s efforts are respectable, but it’s still probably best to read a history book instead.
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