Midway
Midway

Midway

2019Movie138 minEnglish

The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.

Read Reviews

Insights

IMDb5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes34%
Metacritic47/100
Google Users72%
Director: Roland EmmerichGenres: Action, Drama, History, War

Plot Summary

The film chronicles the pivotal Battle of Midway, a crucial naval battle fought between American and Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater during World War II. It follows the experiences of the U.S. Navy sailors and aviators who faced overwhelming odds to turn the tide of the war. The story focuses on the strategic planning, personal sacrifices, and incredible bravery displayed in the face of intense combat. Ultimately, it depicts how this daring victory reshaped the course of the war in the Pacific.

Critical Reception

Midway received a mixed reception from critics, with praise often directed at its visual effects and large-scale battle sequences. However, many critics found the storytelling to be shallow, the characters underdeveloped, and the historical accuracy questionable. Audiences were generally more receptive, appreciating the action and patriotic themes.

What Reviewers Say

  • Visually impressive with grand battle scenes, but suffers from a lack of character depth and narrative coherence.
  • The film's ambition to create a sweeping war epic is hampered by a predictable script and a failure to fully engage with its historical subject matter.
  • While aiming for a respectful portrayal of a significant event, it often feels more like a generic action movie than a nuanced historical drama.

Google audience: Audience reviews generally highlight the film's impressive visual effects and large-scale action sequences as major positives. Many viewers found it to be an entertaining war film that effectively depicted the intensity of the Battle of Midway. However, some users expressed disappointment with the character development and felt the historical narrative could have been more detailed or accurate.

Fun Fact

Director Roland Emmerich, known for disaster films like 'Independence Day' and '2012', chose to direct 'Midway' because he had always been fascinated by the battle and wanted to tell this story with a modern, high-octane approach.

AI-generated overview · Verify ratings on official sources

My Review

TMDB Reviews

7 reviews
Peter McGinn

Peter McGinn

I am not a fan of war movies (and therefore not an authoritative reviewer) so I can only say that I thought it was fairly entertaining. Woody Harrelson and Dennis Quaid were as good as I would expect them to be and the large cast certainly ...
Per Gunnar Jonsson

Per Gunnar Jonss...

This movie was a bit of a positive surprise. I was actually prepared to not like it that much but Hollywood actually made a decent war movie without pushing their usual left wing political propaganda and woke SJW bullshit. It’s really a ...
SierraKiloBravo

SierraKiloBravo

Click here for a video version of this review: youtu.be/2Mr6XRF4GR4 _Midway_ is an ambitous film that sets out to follow the United States entry into World War Two, from the attack on Pearl Harbour through to the Battle of Midway. To tel...
JPV852

JPV852

Admittedly I have a love for anything involving World War II and although the dialogue was a bit spotty and some of the visual effects were okay at best, I still found this to be a pretty good war movie and nice performances all around. Pro...
SWITCH.

SWITCH.

War stories are only worth retelling in film if you're doing something new and interesting with the genre. Otherwise, it's just a retread of 'Pearl Harbour' or 'Fury' or any of the dozen other thematically-empty, explosion-happy extravaganz...
Wuchak

Wuchak

***Just the facts, Jack*** Intelligence officer Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson) warns that a Japanese attack is imminent, but his advice is disregarded and the Japanese use their carrier fleet to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Ad...
Manuel São Bento

Manuel São Bento

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :) With all due respect to Roland Emmerich and to his fantastic Independence Day, his movies never quite reach their potential, ending up in constant disappointments. It...