Ambitious but muddled

Rating: 6/10 (4 April 2020)

This review contains spoilers.
Midway is a war movie that premiered in 2019. The movie is directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Wes Tooke. The movie features an ensemble cast of Hollywood and foreign actors. The movie covers events before, during, and after the real life Battle of Midway.
Midway is an incredibly jumbled movie. The movie is chronological in the events that it depicts, however there are many loose threads of stories that are loosely connected in this movie. The movie is ultimately too ambitious for its 138 minutes of running time. The movie starts 1937 when the relations between the United States and Japan are breaking down. The movie then transitions to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The audience does not get into the Battle of Midway until the movie is well underway. The lead up to the battle is not as well earned as the events seem incredibly disparate. The different characters do not intertwine in a meaningful way. In addition the movie does not feature a protagonist. We follow many different perspectives. The closest character that comes close to being a protagonist is Edwin Layton portrayed by Patrick Wilson. The movie frequently switches to perspectives of the bombing squadron to tell their story.
Midway is a visual treat and the movie does treat the history with respect. I did enjoy the movie discussed the Japanese perspective as they began the battle. The battle itself is impressive to watch in this movie. The United States pilots are portrayed as heroic with the Japanese pilots not being featured much. The one item that was missing was the bombing of Yorktown. The Yorktown carrier being attacked is cut to after the bomb had already devastated the carrier. It felt cheap to the audience that we were not able to see the Japanese retaliate after their carrier fleet was decimated.
The direction and writing of the movie could have been in better hands however the movie has enough enjoyable elements for the viewers.
I would recommend 'Midway'.
Grade: C