Rating: 
Summary: Not as great as "Tora, Tora, Tora"
Review: "Midway" does not excel as much as its predecessor on many points. For one, there's the unnecessary conflict, mostly in the love interest.Also, the Japanese speak English, and I can't help but identify some voice actors dubbing over them (some Rankin/Bass regulars seem to help out, if you've watched things like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"). It doesn't give it as real a feel as "Tora, Tora, Tora" did with the Japanese speaking their native language. Finally, the movie "Midway" whores stock footage like no one's business. Every scene in "Tora, Tora, Tora" was re-enacted, but sadly that is not seen here. The stock footage sticks out from the regular movie like white string holding a toy spaceship. Overall, its a decent war film if you're in the mood for one, but I wouldn't call it a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Film When It Sticks To History
Review: "Midway" has it's flaws to be sure. The pointless fictional sub-plot involving Charlton Heston's son and his Nisei fiancee seems like a concession to PC sensitivities about Nisei internment. The overuse of stock footage instead of constructing new miniatures doesn't help either and the Japanese characters should have spoken Japanese with subtitles. But when Midway sticks to real history, as it does for most of the film it is quite gripping and fascinating. It was because of this movie, which I first saw on the CBS Late Movie in 1981, that I became fascinated with the battle and ended up buying every book that's ever been written about it. As a result, I can never condemn this movie too harshly because of what it ultimately led me to. I do wish though, that it could get a good DVD treatment, with the theatrical cut on one side (which uses John Williams "Midway March" for the end credits) and the longer TV-version on side two (which recreates the Battle of Coral Sea and uses the alternate "Men Of The Yorktown March" for the end credits). It certainly deserves this kind of DVD treatment a lot more than Steven Spielberg's hideous "1941" did.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorest war movie ever made
Review: 'Midway' on DVD while we're still waiting for 'The Longest Day'- somebody's got to be kidding. This one really sucks. Here we go: stock-shots ripped off from 'Thirty seconds over Tokyo', 'Tora Tora Tora' and probably other movies, WWII newsreels footage extensively cropped to fit into the Panavision frame, meaningless cameos by various aging stars -probably to make the flick look like a blockbuster- , historical mistakes and countless errors about planes and aircraft carriers, inept dramatization -the predictable romance between Heston's son and a Japanese girl-, you name it. The only reason I give this awful turkey one star is because the software doesn't allow me to give it none.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the better historical WWII movies
Review: A good friend of mine (and a contemporary) rode in the backseat of a dive bomber at the battle of midway. He's dead now, like three quarters of the men who fought in World War Two. Can you imagine riding backwards in a dive while the people below are doing their best to kill you? Unless you've been there, probably not. This is, historically, one of the most accurate portrayals of the war. One critic complained that "the writing was weak. There was no suspense at all in the film." Perhaps there'd have been enough suspense if he'd been there, like Bill. But Bill survived the battle and died of old age, so I can't ask him about whether he felt any suspense, although we talked a lot about the battle of Midway. In the film, they used top notch actors. For "Bull" Halsey they used Mitchum. Not a look alike, but of course Bull's dead, too, and Mitchum did a good job. Heston, of course, represented a fictional character (Matt Garth), but virtually all of the names of people in the film were real men who fought a real battle, and it was the turning point of the war. After Midway, we took a lot of lumps, but they were on the run from that point on. Of course Hollywood took some liberties, and since they used a lot of actual combat shots, some of the aircraft used were out of place (F6F "Hellcats" for F4F "Wildcats" several times, and the ditching scene where Ensign George Gay went in showed a "Hellcat" instead of the TBD Douglas torpedo bomber that he actually flew. And the shot of the "Hellcat" being torn apart on the carrier's island was well-known footage from the technicolor documentary, The Fighting Lady, which was shot on the old Enterprise during battle, with narration by Lt. Robert Montgomery (qv). Garth's (Heston's) fictional son was supposed to be flying it in the film, but it was an actual crash on board the "Big E", in an actual battle. "Hellcats" (F6F) were Grumman fighter planes (the big brother of the "Wildcat" (F4F) which was obsolescent when the war started, but in use at the Battle of Midway--as was the old Brewster "Buffalo") and the F6F never saw combat until late 1943 (on my birthday, as a matter of fact.) The battle of Midway was in June of 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor. It helps when you know a little history. For instance, Ensign George Gay actually did ride out the battle in the water, after he ditched, and was debriefed personally by the commander-in-chief, pacific fleet (CINCPAC), Admiral Chester Nimitz. He was the only survivor of his torpedo squadron, VT-8 (torpedo squadron 8). Altogether, when you see this picture, you are watching history (as near as Hollywood will ever get to it), and many of the people who died to entertain today's movie audiences are named in the movie. So, try to overlook the lack of a plot, at least in the battle sequences. History wrote them, not Hollywood script writers. Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: One of the better historical WWII movies
Review:
A good friend of mine (and a contemporary) rode in the backseat of a dive bomber at the battle of midway. He's dead now, like three quarters of the men who fought in World War Two. Can you imagine riding backwards in a dive while the people below are doing their best to kill you? Unless you've been there, probably not. This is, historically, one of the most accurate portrayals of the war. One critic complained that "the writing was weak. There was no suspense at all in the film." Perhaps there'd have been enough suspense if he'd been there, like Bill. But Bill survived the battle and died of old age, so I can't ask him about whether he felt any suspense, although we talked a lot about the battle of Midway. In the film, they used top notch actors. For "Bull" Halsey they used Mitchum. Not a look alike, but of course Bull's dead, too, and Mitchum did a good job. Heston, of course, represented a fictional character (Matt Garth), but virtually all of the names of people in the film were real men who fought a real battle, and it was the turning point of the war. After Midway, we took a lot of lumps, but they were on the run from that point on. Of course Hollywood took some liberties, and since they used a lot of actual combat shots, some of the aircraft used were out of place (F6F "Hellcats" for F4F "Wildcats" several times, and the ditching scene where Ensign George Gay went in showed a "Hellcat" instead of the TBD Douglas torpedo bomber that he actually flew. And the shot of the "Hellcat" being torn apart on the carrier's island was well-known footage from the technicolor documentary, The Fighting Lady, which was shot on the old Enterprise during battle, with narration by Lt. Robert Montgomery (qv). Garth's (Heston's) fictional son was supposed to be flying it in the film, but it was an actual crash on board the "Big E", in an actual battle. "Hellcats" (F6F) were Grumman fighter planes (the big brother of the "Wildcat" (F4F) which was obsolescent when the war started, but in use at the Battle of Midway--as was the old Brewster "Buffalo") and the F6F never saw combat until late 1943 (on my birthday, as a matter of fact.) The battle of Midway was in June of 1942, six months after Pearl Harbor. It helps when you know a little history. For instance, Ensign George Gay actually did ride out the battle in the water, after he ditched, and was debriefed personally by the commander-in-chief, pacific fleet (CINCPAC), Admiral Chester Nimitz. He was the only survivor of his torpedo squadron, VT-8 (torpedo squadron 8). Altogether, when you see this picture, you are watching history (as near as Hollywood will ever get to it), and many of the people who died to entertain today's movie audiences are named in the movie. So, try to overlook the lack of a plot, at least in the battle sequences. History wrote them, not Hollywood script writers. Joseph (Joe) Pierre, USN (Ret)
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: South Pacific U.S. Navy Classic
Review: A South Pacific U.S. Navy Classic! I would like to see this offered in both full screen and wide screen versions on DVD. I personally do not like wide screen versions on standard TV's.
Rating:
Summary: The best war movie of all time!
Review: Action, stars, drama. It's simply the best war movie ever made. You couldn't make this movie today with the Hollywood egos and big money contracts that actors demand today. WWII action at its best!
Rating:
Summary: Not good movie making..but a guilty pleasure....
Review: After reading some of the reviews posted here I had to sound off a little.
I saw this movie for the first time in its original thatrical release, when I was 10-11, and yes I was impressed. It was super loud it was bloody ( for its time based on what I had seen at that point) and it had a few dirty words in it, but most of all it had tremendous performances from some of the finest actors.
As I got older and began to see other films ( Tora Tora Tora, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo..) with which to compare Midway I quickly realised that this was a pretty lousy attempt at telling one of the great stories of WWII.
Most of the shots (not all,but most)have a T.V. feel and it comes across that the studio either spent all their money on the cast, or just didnt spend that much at all. Another reviewer said "if you look close enough" you might see a couple of shots from "Tora,Tora Tora". Come on 90% of the shots during the actual assault on Midway either came from "Tora...", or was actual war footage shot by John Ford. Which brings us to the "idea" of using combat camara footage in place of expensive sfx.Actual footage has never meshed with modern day film. This is why Ron Howard, and Tom Hanks never used any in their respective space program films.It only looks good if its being used as a news reel style footage.The first 15 min. of the movie is "30 Seconds Over Tokyo",which by the is a film I highly recommend.
As far as detail goes, well there are uniform faux pas all through. And thank god Hollywood in later years would learn to cut the performers hair to the proper length, because they sure didnt in the 70s.
All this brings us to the only redeeming quality in the movie...the wonderful perfomances. No one could ever play Nemitz like Henry Fonda, and I could go on, and on. Suffice to say I give this movie a guarded recommendation
Rating:
Summary: Very impressive account of the battle of Midway
Review: An all time classic! In presenting and explaining the actions of both sides, Midway succeeds to an extraordinary degree. Minor errors not withstanding, the film gives a very good feel of the battle that was the turning point of the Pacific war. Historically, the move is very accurate and fair. Pity they don't make them like that anymore...
Rating:
Summary: Pass for now.
Review: Another great film, ruined with two channel audio tracks. Wait to buy this one in surround sound. Maybe Image will get the hint, and use the technology available to them.
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