Meh... Watch "Storm over the Pacific" instead.

Rating: 4/10 (18 November 2019)

I'm a bit nostalgic since I saw the original "Midway" in 1976 IN Sensurround! For 10 year olds we still knew the story and the hardware, e.g. the difference between a F4F Wildcat and a F6F Hellcat or that the torpedo planes should've been TBD Devastators and not SBD Dauntless. Midway (1976) used real airplanes and WW2 gun camera footage alongside outtakes from "Tora Tora Tora", "30 Seconds over Tokyo", "The Battle of Britain", and "Storm Over the Pacific"; and one really out of place jet plane crash on the USS Essex (from the Korean War). It had Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Pat Morita, Hal Holbrook and a cast of stars and future stars (Tom Selleck, Eric Estrada) ... It's one of my favorite movies despite some inaccuracies and 1970's limitations. That all said, I HATED "Pearl Harbor" (2001). After a certain point film-makers have the technology and HISTORY to tell an accurate story (I could write a Phd. dissertation on the inaccuracies of "Pearl Harbor). So (FINALLY) where does Midway 2019 rank? I give it 4 stars (out of 10). Midway was a HUGE battle and setting it up w/ Pearl Harbor AND the Doolittle Raid added too much story to tell in 2 hours 20 minutes. If anything the film SHOULD'VE been titled "Enterprise CV-6" since apparently only pilots and crew from that ship did anything in the Battle of Midway (or that's what the Director thinks). Missing (completely) from the movie: Rear Admiral Fletcher who was the (frickin') overall commander of the fleet defending Midway. Also MIA, US Fighter planes...really! No mention or footage of ANY US fighter planes (just dive bombers and torpedo planes). No mention that USS Yorktown's/Hornet's fighter cover that had to turn back or ditch in the ocean. No mention of portrayal of the brave Marines (led by Major Parks) flying obsolete Brewster Buffalos defending Midway Island (they got obliterated)... no portrayal of the Yorktown fighter escort (led by CDR John Thatch) that actually engaged the Japanese combat air patrol only losing one plane (shooting down 6) and allowing VT-3 to attack the Japanese fleet. Not ONE F4F-Wildcat in the entire movie. There were some other inaccuracies (like HUGE holes in the Order of Battle: e.g. VT-8, from Hornet attacked first, not VT-6 and the "Glee" guy, from Enterprise) but in closing I'll just say that anyone from the USS Yorktown or USS Hornet or even the (glossed over) USS Lexington should feel pretty slighted by this movie. But hey, at least this movie has a Jonas Brother.