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Midway is a 2019 war film about the Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The film was directed by Roland Emmerich, who also produced the film with Harald Kloser, and was written by Wes Tooke. The film stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Tadanobu Asano, Darren Criss and Woody Harrelson.

Midway
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Roland Emmerich
Written by	Wes Tooke
Produced by	Roland Emmerich Harald Kloser
Starring	Ed Skrein Patrick Wilson Luke Evans Aaron Eckhart Nick Jonas Mandy Moore Dennis Quaid Tadanobu Asano Darren Criss Woody Harrelson
Cinematography	Robby Baumgartner
Edited by	Adam Wolfe
Music by	Thomas Wander Harald Kloser
Production companies	Centropolis Entertainment RuYi Media Starlight Culture Entertainment Group Street Entertainment AGC Studios Entertainment One The Mark Gordon Company[1]
Distributed by	Lionsgate (United States) Elevation Pictures (Canada)[2]
Release date	November 8, 2019 (2019-11-08) (United States)
Running time	138 minutes
Countries	United States Canada
Languages	English Japanese
Budget	$100 million[3]
Box office	$126.7 million[4]

The film was a passion project of Emmerich's, and he had trouble getting financial support for the film before finally raising sufficient funds and officially announcing the project in 2017. Much of the cast joined in summer 2018, and filming began in Hawaii that September. Some filming also took place in Montreal. With a production budget of $100 million, it is to date one of the most expensive independent films of all time.

Midway was theatrically released by Lionsgate in the United States on November 8, 2019 and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals but criticized the screenplay. The film was a box office bomb, grossing only $126 million worldwide against a $100 million budget.[5]

Plot

This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (April 2022)

In December 1937 in Tokyo, American naval attaché intelligence officer Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Layton and his counterpart are discussing the US and Japanese positions in the Pacific Ocean during a state function. Layton is warned by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto that if the US threatens the Japanese oil supply, then the Japanese will take immediate action.

After the US cuts off Japan's oil supply, the Japanese use their carrier fleet to strike at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The attack leads the US to enter World War II. Naval aviator Lieutenant Dick Best and the Air Group (CAG) of the carrier USS Enterprise fail to find the Japanese carrier fleet, exacerbating his rivalry with his commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Eugene E. Lindsey. Admiral Yamamoto, with the support of Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, proposes his most audacious plan yet—the invasion of Midway Island using the four available carriers of the "Kido Butai", but are overruled by the Army. "Enterprise" launches raids against the Marshall Islands in February 1942. During an attack by Mitsubishi G3M Nell bombers, one crippled Nell turns back towards the ship in a suicide ramming attempt, but Aviation Machinist's Mate Third Class Bruno Gaido shoots the aircraft down from a parked Dauntless. The crashing bomber slices Gaido's Dauntless in half, but he survives. Vice Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, impressed by Gaido's courage, promotes him to Aviation Machinist's Mate First Class. In April 1942, following Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle 's raid on the Japanese mainland, Yamamoto, Yamaguchi and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo are finally allowed to begin their plan to attack Midway.

In May 1942, following the Battle of the Coral Sea, Layton, along with Joseph Rochefort and his cryptology team, begin intercepting messages concerning a location the Japanese identify as "AF." Layton speaks with Admiral Chester Nimitz, who informs him that Washington believes "AF" to be a target in the South Pacific. Layton disagrees, believing the intended target to be Midway Atoll. After meeting with Rochefort, Nimitz instructs the team to find a way to prove that "AF" is Midway definitively. After Layton instructs Midway to telegraph in the clear (unencrypted) that they are suffering a water shortage, cryptologists working for Rochefort intercept Japanese communications concerning water shortages on "AF," confirming that "AF" is indeed Midway.

In preparation for an ambush of the Japanese fleet, Nimitz orders carriers USS Hornet and "Enterprise" recalled from the Coral Sea and demands that the damaged USS Yorktown be made ready for combat operations. During the preparations, Best is briefly demoralized after one of his proteges crashes during a takeoff. Still, he receives encouragement from the Commander of the Air Group (CAG) of the Enterprise, Wade McCluskey. Best and Lindsey set aside their differences and work together to prepare for the attack. Halsey is put on shore leave by Nimitz after receiving a bad case of the shingles and is temporarily replaced by Raymond A. Spruance.

On June 4, the Japanese launch an air attack against Midway. Initial attempts by US land-based aircraft to strike at the Japanese fleet carriers fail. However, Nagumo and Captain Genda are left shaken by the Americans' unexpected bravery when one bomber narrowly misses the bridge of the Akagi in its attempt to ram the carrier. The Japanese fleet learns of the presence of the American carriers. American submarine USS Nautilus unsuccessfully attacks a Japanese carrier and is chased off by Japanese destroyer Arashi. Lindsey and other American torpedo squadrons attack the Japanese fleet but are shot down. Realizing that the Americans' attacks are preventing the fleet from launching their counterstrike, Yamaguchi orders Nagumo to launch his strike as soon as possible. Despite suffering from respiratory issues from breathing a bad mix of oxygen, Best refuses to leave his men behind and leads his and McCluskey's squadrons into battle. Upon spotting the "Arashi," McClusky correctly infers the Japanese destroyer is rushing back to the main Japanese fleet and leads his planes to follow its course. Arriving to find the Japanese Combat Air Patrol out of position due to the previous torpedo attacks, the dive-bombers score several hits on "Akagi," Kaga and Sōryū, resulting in fires and further explosions due to unsecured ordinance. Nagumo, demoralized and in a state of shock, is persuaded by Genda to transfer his flag to a cruiser. Frank Woodrow O'Flaherty and Gaido are shot down, picked up by the Japanese, and executed when they refuse to talk. Yamaguchi, aboard Hiryu, is more willing to fight and launches a strike wave that succeeds in crippling "Yorktown," prompting "Enterprise" and "Hornet" to launch their remaining aircraft. Best leads the squadron, which successfully inflicts severe damage to the "Hiryu." Admiral Yamaguchi and Captain Tomeo Kaku go down with their command as "Hiryu" is scuttled.

Yamamoto receives news that his carrier force has been destroyed. After learning that the American fleet has withdrawn, thus depriving him of the chance to use his main force of battleships to win a night battle against the American fleet, he orders a general withdrawal. At Pearl Harbor, Rochefort intercepts the Japanese order to withdraw and passes it to Layton, who then informs Nimitz. Meanwhile, Best is discharged from the Navy for his lung problems and decides to return home to his wife and daughter, who are both overjoyed to see that he survived.

Cast

Allies

Actor	Role	Notes
Ed Skrein	Lieutenant Dick Best	Executive officer, Bombing Squadron 6, USS Enterprise
Patrick Wilson	Lieutenant Commander Edwin Layton	Intelligence officer, US Pacific Fleet
Luke Evans	Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky	Air group commander, USS Enterprise
Aaron Eckhart	Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle	USAAF flight commander, embarked on USS Hornet
Nick Jonas	Aviation Machinist's Mate Bruno Gaido	Aviation crew, USS Enterprise
Luke Kleintank	Lieutenant Clarence Earle Dickinson	Pilot, Scouting Squadron 6, USS Enterprise
Darren Criss	Lieutenant Commander Eugene Lindsey	Commander, Torpedo Squadron 6, USS Enterprise
Keean Johnson	Chief Aviation Radioman James Murray	Radio operator, Bombing Squadron 6, USS Enterprise
Alexander Ludwig	Lieutenant Roy Pearce	Watch officer, USS Arizona
Brennan Brown	Commander Joseph Rochefort	Chief Cryptanalyst, Fleet Radio Unit Pacific
Geoffrey Blake	Commander John Ford	Film director stationed at Midway Island on Special Duty
Jake Manley	Ensign Willie West	Pilot, Bombing Squadron 6, USS Enterprise
Mark Rolston	Admiral Ernest King	Chief of Naval Operations
Jake Weber	Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance	Commander, Task Force 16
Eric Davis	Captain Miles Browning	Halsey's chief of staff, USS Enterprise
David Hewlett	Admiral Husband Kimmel	Commander-in-chief, US Pacific Fleet
Dennis Quaid	Vice Admiral William "Bull" Halsey	Commander, Carrier Division Two
Woody Harrelson	Admiral Chester W. Nimitz	Commander-in-chief, US Pacific Fleet
Brandon Sklenar	Ensign George "Tex" Gay	Pilot, Torpedo Squadron 8, USS Hornet
James Carpinello	Lieutenant Commander William Brockman	Captain, USS Nautilus

Japanese

Actor	Role	Notes
Etsushi Toyokawa	Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto	Commander-in-chief, Combined Fleet
Tadanobu Asano	Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi	Commander, 2nd Carrier Division
Jun Kunimura	Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo	Commander, 1st Air Fleet (Kido Butai)
Peter Shinkoda	Commander Minoru Genda	Air Operations Officer, 1st Air Fleet
Hiromoto Ida	Prime Minister Tojo
Hiroaki Shintani	Emperor Hirohito

Civilians

Actor	Role	Notes
Rachael Perrell Fosket	Dagne Layton	Edwin Layton's wife
Kenny Leu	Zhu Xuesan	Chinese school teacher, who visited the US in 1992
Mandy Moore	Anne Best	Dick Best's wife
Dean Schaller	Jack MacKenzie Jr.	Ford's cameraman

Production

On May 23, 2017, it was reported that Roland Emmerich would be directing the World War II film Midway.[6] Due to its potential lofty budget (with estimates putting its needed cost at $125 million), Emmerich had trouble getting the film greenlit. When no major studio would bankroll the project, he cut down on potential battle sequences and turned to individuals for the funds, resulting in $76 million; he then got an additional $24 million in equity, mostly from Chinese investors, resulting in the film's $100 million budget. It is one of the most costly independent films ever made.[3] Emmerich had previously attempted to mount the film at Sony Pictures in the 1990s, with William Goldman becoming interested in the project. However, as with the final rendition, executives balked at the proposed $100 million budget ($152 million by 2019 inflation), and Emmerich moved on to direct The Patriot.[7]

Harald Kloser also produced the film.[1]

In April 2018, Woody Harrelson and Mandy Moore joined the ensemble cast for the film.[8] In July 2018, Luke Evans was cast in the film to play Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky, who was awarded the Navy Cross for his role in the Battle of Midway.[9] Robby Baumgartner was hired as cinematographer.[10] August saw the additions of Patrick Wilson,[11] Ed Skrein,[12] Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Tadanobu Asano, Dennis Quaid, and others to the cast.[13] Darren Criss, Alexander Ludwig, and Brandon Sklenar were cast in September.[14][15][16] Filming began on September 5, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was also shot in Montreal, Quebec.[10]

In November 2018, it was announced that VFX company Scanline VFX will be the main VFX vendor, and that Pixomondo had signed on to provide additional visual effects.

Release

The film was released on November 8, 2019, Veterans Day weekend.[17]

Marketing

A teaser poster for the film was released on June 4, 2019, which was also the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.[18] A set of 13 still photographs depicting scenes from the film was released on June 26, 2019, and the first trailer for the film was released the following day (June 27).[19] The second and final trailer of the film was released on September 12, 2019, with the film's theatrical poster on September 25.[20][21] All-in-all, Lionsgate spent around $40 million promoting the film.[22]

Home media

Midway was released on Digital HD on February 4, 2020, and on DVD and Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 18, 2020.[23]

Reception

Box office

Midway grossed $56.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $68.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $125.4 million, against a production budget of $100 million.[4]

In the United States and Canada, Midway was released alongside Doctor Sleep, Playing with Fire, and Last Christmas, and was projected to gross around $15 million from 3,242 theaters in its opening weekend.[24][25] The film made $6.3 million on its first day (including $925,000 from Thursday night previews). It went on to debut to $17.5 million, beating box office expectations and upsetting projected winner Doctor Sleep by finishing first at the box office.[22][26][25] In its second weekend the film made $8.8 million, finishing second behind newcomer Ford v Ferrari, before making $4.7 million and finishing in fifth in its third weekend.[27][28]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 169 reviews and an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Midway revisits a well-known story with modern special effects and a more balanced point of view, but its screenplay isn't quite ready for battle."[29] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[30] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4 out of 5 stars, with 58% saying they would definitely recommend it.[22]

Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail gave the film a score of 2/4 stars, describing it as "a Second World War epic that runs a comparatively paltry 138 minutes yet feels about five times as long", concluding that the film was "a choppy bore, its main source of intrigue centred around whatever New Jersey-ese accent British actor Ed Skrein is attempting as dive bomber Richard Best."[31] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film a score of 2.5/4 stars, saying that it "tells a story that’s vividly and viscerally rendered, with all the entertainment value of a big, old-fashioned war movie", but added: "the kiss-kiss never really registers with quite the same impact as the bang-bang."[32] Wendy Ide of The Observer gave the film a score of 2/5 stars, writing: "Every tired war movie cliche is unearthed in a film that brings nothing new but will no doubt please fans of men in uniform yelling at explosions."[33]

Paul Byrnes of The Sydney Morning Herald gave the film a score of 3/5 stars, describing it as "one of [Roland Emmerich's] better films", but added: "There are a number of earlier versions to pick from, including John Ford's original 18-minute Oscar-winning documentary. We didn't need a new one, unless he had something new to say or a new way to say it. To both questions, the answer is no."[34] Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote: "The film's drama is B-movie basic. But the destructive colliding metal-on-metal inferno of what war is what makes Midway a picture worth seeing."[35] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described the film as being "so square, so old-school and old-fashioned, it almost feels avant-garde", adding: "It aims to celebrate heroism, sacrifice, determination and grit, and if you don’t like that it really does not care."[36]

Historical accuracy

While the film takes some artistic license, Emmerich and Tooke were both adamant about being historically accurate, and Midway received praise from some combat veterans and historians for being more accurate of events than Midway (1976) and Pearl Harbor (2001). Naval History and Heritage Command director and retired Navy Rear Admiral Sam Cox said: "Despite some of the 'Hollywood' aspects, this is still the most realistic movie about naval combat ever made."[37]

Several seemingly "Hollywood-ized" events depicted in the film, such as Bruno Gaido sprinting into a parked plane in an effort to shoot down a crippled plane attempting to crash into the Enterprise, then getting on-spot promoted, occurred as shown, though according to USA Today, "Gaido hid after shooting the plane down, afraid he was going to get in trouble for leaving his battle station. 'They had to hunt him down and bring him to Halsey', says [Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Samuel J. Cox, director of the Naval History and Heritage Command]."[38]

The film depicts the naval attack on the Marshall Islands (February 1, 1942) correctly.

See also

• Midway (1976 film)
• Pearl Harbor (film)
• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970 film)

References

External links

• Official website
• Midway at IMDb 
• Midway at AllMovie

На других языках

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[de] Midway – Für die Freiheit

Midway – Für die Freiheit (Originaltitel Midway) ist ein historisches Actiondrama von Roland Emmerich. Der Film kam am 7. November 2019 in die deutschsprachigen und am folgenden Tag in die US-Kinos. Er erzählt von der Schlacht um Midway, einer entscheidenden Seeschlacht des Pazifikkriegs im Zweiten Weltkrieg.

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- [en] Midway (2019 film)

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[es] Midway (película de 2019)

Midway (titulada: Midway: Batalla en el Pacífico en Hispanoamérica) es una película de guerra épica estadounidense de 2019 sobre la batalla de Midway de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, dirigida por Roland Emmerich, quien produjo la película con Harald Kloser y escrita por Wes Tooke. Presenta un reparto coral, que incluye a Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Tadanobu Asano y Woody Harrelson.

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[ru] Мидуэй (фильм, 2019)

«Ми́дуэй» (англ. Midway) — художественный фильм Роланда Эммериха в жанре исторической драмы и боевика. Сценарий фильма написал Уэс Тук. Главные роли в фильме исполняют Вуди Харрельсон, Люк Эванс и Мэнди Мур. Фильм вышел в прокат 8 ноября 2019 года.

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