When we think of mindnumbing explosions, noisy battle scenes and gratuitous, overblown, ridiculous action, our mind immediately turns to Michael Bay. But that’s grossly unfair and really relegate his contemporary, “Independence Day,” “2012,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” filmmaker Roland Emmerich to the margins and he’s equally adept in creating this kind of nonsense.
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While Emmerich’s last film a failed return to past glories in “Independence Day: Resurgence,” his latest, “Midway” is another attempt at epic action filmmaking, but this time through the lens of history. The film follows the story of US Navy sailors and aviators who persevered through the Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
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The sprawling cast is enormous and includes Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Etsushi Toyokawa, Tadanobu Asano, Luke Kleintank, Jun Kunimura, Darren Criss, Keean Johnson, Alexander Ludwig, with Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Woody Harrelson. Somehow, Ed Skrein, of all people, whose most prominent role might be the villain in “Deadpool,” leads the movie, or at least gets first billing. Here’s the official synopsis:
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MIDWAY centers on the Battle of Midway, a clash between the American fleet and the Imperial Japanese Navy which marked a pivotal turning point in the Pacific Theater during WWII. The film, based on the real-life events of this heroic feat, tells the story of the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude, and bravery to overcome the odds.
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“The amazing thing is nobody really thought it was very special. It was this generation that just shrugged it off afterward,” Emmerich said of the way the battle is remembered now in talking to USA Today. “They did stuff that today probably nobody would ever, ever do again.”
So, it’s an epic tale of heroism, it contains a lot of people and stories and presumably, a lot of the cast is expendable. “Midway” flies into theaters November 8, via Lionsgate and probably will lean hard into Veterans Day which is just a few days after. Watch the first trailer below.