Mediocre

Rating: 6/10 (13 April 2020)

A mediocre war film. It has it all - an admiral and his staff discussing the dire situation, ragtag soldiers (or pilots) sacrificing themselves, wives and children worrying at home, and action-packed battle scenes. But everything is done in a mediocre way.
Fundamentally, this flim is a little too long for what it is. Because it is unfocused. Contrary to my expectations from the movie title, the Battle of Midway accounts for only one half of this film. The first half is spent on showing bits and pieces of prior engagements including Pearl Harbor, Battle of the Coral Sea, and Doolittle Raid. I mean, they can make good stories too, but they are not directly relevant to Midway (or, at least, this film fails to link up these events in a coherent story line).
Characters are disastrously shallow. They are just like symbols each assigned to a typical role in a war film and uttering designated cliches. In fact, the best characters in this film, in my opinion, are the Japanese ones.
Cinematography is ok, but nothing outstanding. Some scenes, including the Pearl Harbor scenes, look cheap because they are so obviously computer-generated. Of course we all know it's all CGI nowadays, but it still hurts when it actually looks CGI. (Probably something is wrong with the rendering of fire.)
An upside of the movie is its generally even-handed approach in depicting American and Japanese sides. Many war films, such as Pearl Harbor (2001) and Hacksaw Ridge (2016) for example, show the Japanese as inhumane demons or maniacs. On the other hand, this film follows the style of Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) in showing how the Japanese made their decisions for their part. It even explains briefly why the Japanese were "forced" to attack the U.S. in the first place. But consistency fails here again when the Japanese tie an American POW to an anchor and throws him overboard.
All in all, it shouldn't be a high priority in your war movie list. There are many more worthy films dedicated to naval battles of the Pacific War.