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Midway offers over two hours of WWII battles between Americans and Japanese forces; interesting or too much?

Midway follows the repercussions of Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack on the United States in 1941, as the U.S is pulled into WWII. With another attack on the U.S underway, the U.S navy and pilots have to engage in one of the most important battles that will decide the fate of many nations.

The film has an array of characters, but most prominently follows cocky Commander Pilot Dick Best (Ed Skrein), and his group of pilots. In parallel, the film sheds light on the politics behind the battles, following Intelligence Commander Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson), Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (Woody Harrelson), as well as the Japanese commanding officers and the decisions they make.

The parallel focus is not necessarily what produces the messy feeling of the film; it’s the array of random characters that come out of the blue every now and then.

When it comes to the actual premise, it is simple; Americans get hit in Pearl Harbor, so they retaliate, and a battle begins. However, the details are easily confusing with focus on multiple internal relations, procedures, and more.

Midway is a whopping 130-minute-long feature with many characters, battles, and politics, so it is not exactly the easiest to keep up with. The battles are what make this feature enjoyable, it takes most of its time, so if you are into war-action scenes, you’re in for a treat.

For the acting, Ed Skrein’s performance was two dimensional; offering a mediocre maverick act, with a few emotional moments that didn’t stand out. Patrick Wilson was pretty plausible; nevertheless, a little bit of effort would have been more useful in the scene where his character shows remorse for not stopping the disaster when he could have.

Woody Harrelson performance was strong enough, despite the ridiculous hairpiece he was wearing. Playing another Commander Pilot, Luke Evans also gave a strong performance that was even more charismatic than that of Ed Skrein. The film’s big cast also includes Mandy Moore as Dick Best’s wife, and Nick Jonas as a brave junior pilot.

What Midway really offers is a chance to see ships exploding, planes crashing in water, and crazy moves by brave pilots; so if you are willing to watch that for almost two hours, then go ahead.