This film takes place in the chaotic months following the 1941 Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor. Allied forces are scrambling to respond, and U.S. commanders are trying to figure out Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s next moves. The plot centers around a critical U.S. naval action to defend the Midway Islands against invaders.
The story’s heroes include maverick U.S. pilot Dick Best (Ed Skrein), who fearlessly returns to the fray each time duty demands, and Bruno Gaido (Nick Jonas), a sailor who saves his aircraft carrier by hopping into a parked plane and gunning down a kamikaze pilot.
The CGI in this film is impressively realistic. You feel like you’re in the cockpit behind Best as he ducks anti-aircraft fire to bomb Japanese warships. I also enjoyed Woody Harrelson as U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz and Patrick Wilson as Edwin Layton, a canny intelligence officer. Throughout the film, you get a sense of the grave, split-second decisions military leaders have to make in the heat of war.
It’s definitely worth seeing the film in a theater with enhanced sound and effects. Feeling your chair rumble as depth charges explode and planes strafe enemy targets can offer a small hint of the sensory overload WWII heroes must have experienced.
Should you see it? Yes, the cast and special effects are well worth it. – J.J.
Viewed at Marcus Chesterfield Cinema