However, if this was a new release during the late 90's or even the early 2000's, it would be one of the most fun and action-packed films of the year.
Emmerich's sweet spot was certainly from Stargate in 1994 to The Day After Tomorrow in 2004, with the disappointing Godzilla being the only exception in that period. I think we can all agree that Independence Day is Emmerich's crowning glory.
With his latest project, I went in with a fair amount of hope given the subject matter. The Battle Of Midway has been portrayed fairly well over the decades and with today's technology, I knew this had great potential if it was done in the right way.
In the end, I felt it was nothing more than alright. It started with a lot of positivity. The action was thrilling, I could feel the stakes and was enjoying the characters and the vibe the film was giving off. But I think as the film went on, while it still maintained the same quality, it just felt tiresome and ordinary by the end.
While the script was like it jumped out of a 1940's comic book, it felt acceptable with the tone. But sometimes, I just couldn't forgive the corniness of it.
The performances were perfectly fine but never exceptional. I feel Ed Skrein did well in the leading role and I was pleased to see be the main character as he deserves it for previous work. But I think like with most War epics, the large cast list all do a satisfactory job and just let the story do the talking.
But clearly, the action sequences are the films biggest selling point. It does work on the whole. But it does end up being its own worst enemy. Its 2hrs 18mins duration began to show as there was probably one too many battle sequences and the thrilling action became somewhat tiresome. Yes, it was great to watch. But could we just have a bit of story development as well?
Despite the criticism I have given it, there was enough entertainment and engagement for it to be passable viewing. You can feel the passion Emmerich and his team are putting into this given it's a real story with a lot of tragedy. But it just never felt like a spectacle compared to War films of the past that covered similar important war battles.
I did appreciate that they wanted to show this event told from both sides and not just the allies, which reminds of what Clint Eastwood did in Flags Of Our Feathers and Letters From Iwo Jima. So I have to give some credit where its due.
But in the end, I can't see people remembering this film anytime soon.
Rating: 7/10
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