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Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2020)

This movie is outstanding, and is a very accurate depiction of the actual events of this period of the war. Even actions that some might term over the top, such as the heroic feat of Bruno Gaido, were portrayed spot on accurate, to include the precise orientation of the Douglas SBD Dauntless that he used to fire on the enemy bomber that was attempting to crash into the Enterprise. The field promotion by Admiral William Halsey is likewise totally true.
The movie breaks new ground by telling personal stories of the pilots and gunners who actually performed the selfless aerial attacks, something that the 1970's era movie inadequately did. Though, by focusing on the interaction of just one bomber squadron, the movie did omit reference to Norman "Dusty" Kleiss, who made the critical hit that sank the Kaga.
The other pilot with multiple hits on a carrier, carried out at Coral Sea and then at Midway against the Kaga, was Clarence Dickinson. He was portrayed quite accurately in the movie, complete with his North Carolina accent. The personal interactions between Dickinson and Dick Best are portrayed very well, showing the small, and tightly knit community of Naval pilots in the early months of the war.
Still, Dick Best was an excellent choice to be the main character focus in this film, and as outlandish as the actions portrayed may appear, they are very much in keeping with the actual history of the battle, and the extraordinary airmanship skills of Best. Best was the only pilot in Naval history to record two critical hits on an aircraft carrier on the same day -- a feat that will likely never be equaled. Best sank both the Akagi and then the Hiryu, just as portrayed in this movie.
Beyond the intensely personal portrayals, this movie was able to effectively leverage the best of modern computer graphics, to portray a very up close glimpse of the incredible danger of flying the torpedo and dive bombing attacks on naval ships.
The realism of having to dive to extremely low altitude to score hits is likewise accurately portrayed. Without the special effects available today, it is doubtful that the details of these attacks could have been faithfully replicated, but in this movie, they were.
The intelligence back story, so critical to the success of the Midway mission, and the fateful decisions, are all packaged quite well. This is the definitive movie to understand the Battle of Midway, and it is hard to see another movie equaling it.