The 1942 battles of the Coral Sea and Midway island are retold through the points of view of both sides. When an audacious US air raid reaches Japan itself, Combined Fleet commander Isoroku Yamamoto orders seaborne invasions of Port Moresby in the southwestern Pacific and of Midway Island near Hawaii, invasions that Yamamoto hopes will smoke out the US Pacific Fleet for destruction before the full might of US war production can kick in. The Japanese are supremely confident of victory over the vastly outnumbered US fleet, but they are unaware that US Navy intelligence has cracked the Imperial Navy's codes, allowing the US to deploy aircraft carriers to maximum counteroffensive effect. A dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II. The TV edition of Midway omits a major part of history that new viewers should have the opportunity to know. The Japanese thought they sank the US carrier Yorktown at the Battle of the Coral Sea a short time earlier. However, the severely damaged carrier limped back to Pearl and was made battle-ready in short time to face the Japanese at Midway.<br/><br/>The Japanese were shocked when they discovered the Yorktown at Midway and attacked it twice, thinking it was two different carriers! This was due in part to the superior firefighting training and damage control skills of the US sailors.<br/><br/>The Yorktown is a legend in naval history. See a historically accurate scale model at the San Diego Naval and Space Museum. It was built by the late Lt. Cmdr. Fred V. Fraas, USN (Ret). How bad is this movie ? Let me count the ways… Alright, I'm a WWII history buff and I have seen some really good WWII movies. This is NOT one of them. This is very unfortunate because The Battle Of Midway is one of the most important naval battles ever fought in the entire history of the world. Others before me here have pointed out various problems with this movie so I will try not to rehash them. It is obvious that this movie was made on a shoestring budget, and part of that problem is that they may have spent too much on the salaries of the actors. Just about every actor in the film, even in the smallest of roles, is a big star. Plus, it's obvious that they stole scenes from other movies, including "Tora ! Tora ! Tora !" which is a MUCH better movie, and far more historically accurate. There are many glaring inaccuracies in this movie, but I think the worst omission, is the sinking of the USS Yorktown. The USS Yorktown was an integral part of the Battle Of Midway, and its sinking was a terrible loss. But it isn't even mentioned in the film. This is a great disservice to the mens' lives who were lost on her as well as the heroic efforts of the men to save her. If you don't know ANYTHING about WWII, you might be entertained for a few hours with this. If you DO know anything about WWII, you will be sorely disappointed in this hack job, and I wouldn't waste my time.<br/><br/>It's a terrible shame too, because it is one of the most important battles ever fought, and if it had been done with the same style and care as Tora ! Tora ! Tora !, it would have been a great film. But it's a turkey.
Onoryjaqu replied
366 weeks ago