Midway between mediocre and made for DVD

Rating: 4/10 (12 December 2019)

I was excited to see the lates installment of war epics after the likes of Fury and Saving Private Ryan but was sadly disappointed. Although the CGI was excellent and the rawness of battle was felt through the lens of the pilot giving great appreciation for the valor and heroism of those who faced the hellfire of the Japanese navy, there was so much wanting. First the acting was subpar with little to no character development and writing which was all together poor and hollow especially in light of the fine group actors chosen for the roles. I constantly asked why is there so much strife between the CO and the main character? When did Washington fail to listen to the Layton the main intelligence officer when he warned of Japans intent to attack Pearl leading to a sleeping US on Dec. 7th? Not to mention, the heroes who are supposed to inspire instead gave speeches which were full of weakness and about as exciting as a T-ball game. Another weakness was the story line. The continuity of story was poorly edited and was instead a broken mishmash of dog fights and Mandy Moore crying. We are given no background into Dolittle and his Raiders, or the battles at Coral Sea. But my biggest complaint is, in the end the worst of hollywood found its way as Emmerich felt it necessary to be an apologist for the Japanese and in the most insidious way. He chose to portray one of the most evil aggressors in world history as Honorable as the commanders of the Japanese carriers go down with their ships. He blamed the US and Dolittle for the suffering of the Chinese in retribution for the Dolittle raid as Dolittle says "this is because of us" somehow feeling blame. I doubt a red blooded American such as Dolittle would feel any remorse and properly blame the true perpetrator of evil and say F the vile Japanese. Lastly he has the audacity to give honor to the Japanese Navy alongside our boys!!! Disgusting. Don't waste your money on a ticket. Wait for DVD or see the classic.