Lacks heart

Rating: 6/10 (17 December 2019)

MIDWAY: A history lesson for those who don't know. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, brought the US into WWII. It's very apparent that the budget for this film was huge. But it wasn't spent on the biggest A-list cast, but rather on the battle sequences. Too bad they spent so much for so little: Ships and planes shooting at each other with the occasional torpedo launch; planes going down; battleships and aircraft carriers exploding; grimacing pilots trying to evade shells while still trying to remain on target; planes and pilots getting hit; bombs dropping. Except for the epilogue which summarized the lives of some of the major figures involved, this one doesn't touch us. The acting across the board is serviceable (no pun intended). The wives of the pilots are clones of each other. Something is missing from the depiction of the events, even though it's told from the perspective of the individuals involved on both sides. The direction is much more concerned with the action while slighting character and humanity and the sheer heroism of the pilots who flew those missions and the crews who supported them. We're not given the chance to connect with the characters. It's factual. The movie tells the story, but we're not involved, we're not moved, because the telling lacks heart. It's cold. Score: 6. Not worth it. The heroism is deserving of our upmost respect and honor. 12/16/19