Meng Says Thumbs-up for Midway Movie 

By: Raymond Meng (Rayviews)

Midway is a great film for avid fans of war movies. The movie chronicles the events from Pearl Harbor to the legendary battle of Midway. The ratings are great and the box office numbers don’t lie. As of December 15, 2019, the movie has grossed internationally 122.5 million dollars. (Wikipedia).

The plot of the movie revolves around a group of American navy soldiers, but, interestingly,  it includes the “enemy’s” perspective. It gives in-depth, factual scenes regarding Imperial Japan’s motives and plans. The movie acknowledges the uttermost dedication the Japanese had (seppuku, a ritual suicide after humiliating defeat to preserve their honor) and their militaristic methods. The movie also places the emphasis on the wives and families of the American soldiers who had to burden the weight of potentially never seeing their loved ones. There are many moments depicting the heart-wrenching instances between the soldiers and wives. The wives know that it is their duty to serve, but personally, they would rather their husbands stay at home.

Furthermore, the movie has world-class CGI. The battle scenes were completely immersive, making it show-stopping. In a particularly tense scene, an American fighter plane was charging a Japanese aircraft carrier. There was a blizzard of bullets, planes being shot down, and the drums of artillery. While this was occurring, the courageous pilot nose-dived towards the boat and released a giant bomb.

If I were to give the movie a rating out of 10, I would give it a solid 9. The acting by famous stars such as Nick Jonas and Woody Harrelson was superb and the effects even better. However, the movie’s structure was confusing, as the time elapsed during the entire movie was very long. Other than that, the music by the composer Thomas Wander was a war movie masterpiece. I strongly recommend everyone to watch this movie -- there’s no Midway about it!