More stars than you can shake a stick at, but this movie creaks and groans and is a poor example of a last ditch effort to do a World War II spectacle.

Technically, the movie is slap-dash. There is a lot of stock film run over and...
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More stars than you can shake a stick at, but this movie creaks and groans and is a poor example of a last ditch effort to do a World War II spectacle.

Technically, the movie is slap-dash. There is a lot of stock film run over and over again, some matted onto recent scenes awkwardly. Some of the miniatures featured in "Tora, Tora, Tora" are thrown in, scenes of Japanese carriers burning are artificial looking at best and blend poorly with other aspects. "Sensurround" effects are sprinkled around at very obvious moments, but were not that exciting even in the 70s.

But what hurts the most is that this is a movie "out of time", the lines are trite and there is no attempt at character development whatsoever, the biggest male names in Hollywood are given chopped and stilted language to move the story along. There is much more immediacy in the war movies of the 40s, despite smaller budgets and ambitions. Intimate stories like "Memphis Belle" or more personal approaches like "Saving Private Ryan" finally fit modern filmmaking strengths better.

I'd avoid "Midway" and read more about the details of the war in the Pacific, for all its bluster, this film glosses those over too.