Midway | Based on a True Story

[@IJX89]

The Japanese reprisal on the Chinese for the Doolittle Raid was called the "Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign" it was an incursion through the Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces to search for the US airmen who landed mostly in those provinces. Consequently the Japanese killed anyone they suspected of aiding the US airmen. However in Japanese fashion, they went over the top and the total Chinese killed numbered over 250,000.

[@CynicalHistorian]

thanks. not exactly a reprisal, but I'll pin this comment

[@IJX89]

@@CynicalHistorian yeah fair point, it doesn't meet the X=Y definition of a reprisal. However I think it has mostly gone down in memory as a correlated reprisal. But I guess it's up for interpretation.

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

That 250k number comes from Chiang Kai-Shek. Most modern historians don't think the Japanese actually killed that many people on that specific mission. Chiang Kai-Shek just kind of picked that number out of the air and used it to drum up further support for the Chinese from their allies. And to his credit it did work.

[@IJX89]

@@PhillyPhanVinny I haven't done enough reading to argue against that. The number may not have been 250k... but I don't think anyone would assume the Japanese didn't kill tens of thousands at least on that particular operation. Given their track record and all.

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

@@IJX89 Yes, 100% agree on that. 250k is a exaggeration but the Japanese definitely still did kill many in return for the Raid on Tokyo.

[@lt_rainbowslash58]

I loved this movie, mostly for the accuracy. That and I’m a massive WW2 nut who knows basically everything. For me it was: Oh cool there’s the Doolittle Raid, oh there’s the Marshalls Raid, ha lol shitty mk13s. Etc. Etc. If you are a history buff and know the context this movie is great. It’s history brought to life. If you aren’t...yeahhhhh...

[@Ark_3311]

Me too

[@viceroy3016]

I wish I could agree but the movie felt soulless to me. It really lacked direction and glossed over some really important events. I would have like it more if they'd broken it in 2; Maybe the Road too Midway and the Battle of Midway. It was nice to see the other battles but it was to broken up and lost context by trying to do too much. Visually it's stunning and you can forgive the inaccuracies but it's still a jumbled badly timed mess of a movie. Overall I'm glad I watched it but it could have been so much better.

[@heathercontois4501]

I love history, but I am not as educated as you (or my dad) and I would still love all the detail in a movie like this. Plus, while I am not nearly as educated as I hope to become, there are also times where if I question the validity of something from a film I look it up. Then, of course, their is the total bs that we are fed, like 1492, 1776 and Apocolypto. I also like to keep in mind how cinematography, budget and dramatic license are used these days. I mean, really, we can't even get international cooperation to make a film as epically sot as Ten Commandments, for real life history, ever again. And that had a one time shot completely missed...which was hilarious.

[@scotty_grooves_LOW]

Lost it at "They've turned me into Neville Chamberlain."

[@simonpeter5032]

I didn't really laugh, but it was a witty joke.

[@Setebos]

And then, on top of that, a commercial was inserted.

[@danielford4632]

This movie would have been better as a three-part miniseries

[@danielchipman8967]

I agree. And I'm sure Emmerich would as well. This movie was a passion project he'd been wanting to make for a few decades. I'm sure he was tickled just to have a studio say "go for it". I doubt anyone came to him and said "we want you to make a mini-series". So, do you say 'no' to your dream job because you can't squeeze everything in, or do you say 'yes' and do the best you can? I think he did fine all things considered. And I'm by no means a big fan of his.

[@kenrup]

I have to disagree about any new scholarship. Shattered Sword by Jonathan Parshall gives a very different view of events. It also does an excellent job of high lighting the differences between the two navies.

[@PaulineLauren63]

I have to agree with you about Shattered Sword. I am an amateur naval historian and found many new and interesting insights into the Battle of Midway in that book that I had not seen anywhere else. It also makes you question some of the conventional wisdom about the battle.

[@Demospammer9987]

Sounds to me like there's another book I gotta look into. This is gonna be good.

[@markdayell61]

I was about to say something very similar. He actually said, "...but any new book is just a retelling of an old story with nothing new to add to it." and my head spun.

[@macmcleod1188]

I'm hearing something about the Hornet story we've always heard being highly inaccurate (actually a lie) and there were mutinies among air crews. Not a lot of details yet- it was mentioned on another youtube channel as new research.

[@jttraina4516]

I actually think "THIS VERSION" of the battle of Midway was fairly accurate. It showed the IMPORTANCE of the Nautilus played incidentally in the battle, causing the Japanese Destroyer to inadvertently reinforce the location of the enemy fleet. It also showed what the Japanese did to the TWO aviators they picked up after their plane crashed.

[@nicholaswalsh4462]

"KZbin turned me into Neville Chamberlain."- The Cynical Historian at Copyright Striked KZbinrs Anonymous

[@celston51]

"There will be monetization in our time!" - Neville "Cynical Historian" Chamberlain.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

You know when you looking for news KZbin push the authoritive news news source like CNN, Fox, and MNSBC it not like they lie time and time agian by getting stuff wrong

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

@@USSAnimeNCC- Lying means to KNOWINGLY tell an untruth. You cannot "lie" by "getting it wrong". That is why Fox rarely gets things wrong, they WANT to lie. To throw the other two in the same boat is deeply dishonest on your side. THey may be biased and for that reason actually GET things wrong, but they are not Faux News ways of intentionally misleading.

[@wplacke]

Ugly German Truths veritas would have to disagree with you, look at who owns and sets the narrative for all the companies. All of them are politically motivated and openly so. Covington being one of the most egregious examples in my opinion

[@dawiem6310]

@@Ugly_German_TruthsThe lawyer in me wants to amend your keen observation: it is also lying when you spout forth egregiously recklessly, esp when prefaced with 'I don't know, but...' eg 'I don't know, but perhaps C19 can be beaten by drinking disinfectant'

[@jedighostbear4401]

I had a feeling Emmerich was biting off more than he could chew. If he had chosen to do a multipart miniseries like The Pacific, it would have done much much better

[@diggs5142]

I didn't even make it Midway through this movie.

[@LCCWPresents]

It felt so broad, that I was watching a power point of all the major events of WW2 in the Pacific. Like only do the battle of Midway and I'ld be more invested in the product.

[@diggs5142]

@@LCCWPresents felt like a bad elementary school history lesson, glad I didn't go to the theatre to see it, would've been such a waste.

[@gnarkillguch]

Heyooo!

[@sebastianchavez577]

scuba Steve Nah, it was bad but it got a lot of things surprisingly right, it’s biggest issue was that it tried to cover too many events.

[@ppputalawuea]

LMAO

[@nm7358]

Uhhhh... "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway"? This recent research work almost singlehandedly changed the whole narrative of the battle from the Japanese side by showing how their operational and doctrine shortcomings led to their decisive defeat at Midway.

[@gildor8866]

Indeed. It is actually fascinating how myths like the japanese strike planes being on deck ready to launch not only came to be but continued to be believed for decades despite being well known as nonsense in Japan and photos from the US-planes showing the flightdecks being empty.

[@chryse]

@@gildor8866 In fairness, Emmerich's film depicts Akagi and Kaga with empty flight decks, save for a couple of ready A6M Zeroes on deck, unlike the 1976 film that did not have the benefit of the newer source material. So he does make use of the new research. Chalk one notch in the "they got it right" column. The whole time I watched it I was waiting to see even a small glimpse of F4F Wildcat fighters, which escorted the strikes and did a bulk of the dogfighting, yet not a one was seen the whole film.

[@gildor8866]

@@chryse Yes, Emmerich got that correct. But I meant its astonishing that it took till 2007 (when shattered sword was published) until it was noticed that Fuchidas original version of the japanese side of events was nonsense. That Fuchida was still being taken seriously outside Japan until the end of the century despite being thoroughly discredited in Japan for decades.

[@chryse]

@@gildor8866 Thanks for the clarification. I agree, there was certainly some cultural colorblindness going on where Western scholars just weren't listening to Japanese historians who knew better. There may have been cases of faulty translation as well. Great point though.

[@Philistine47]

@@chryse It's less "Western scholars just weren't listening to Japanese historians," and more "Japanese historians were only publishing in Japan - and for a very narrow military-academic at that,, and didn't make much (if any) effort to promulgate their findings more widely." Meanwhile in the West, for over 50 years we thought we _had_ an authoritative Japanese source: no less than _Akagi's_ air group commander, Fuchida Mitsuo, who had certainly been in a position to know almost everything about how the battle was conducted from the Japanese side.

[@Bigrago1]

I think the best way to tell the story of the Battle of Midway(since every other time they failed) is to make it a trilogy. First movie: Pearl Harbor Second: Coral Sea Third: Midway The Doolittle Raid in my opinion should just be its own separate moive.

[@GrandmaKeith]

There is one Doolittle movie called 30 seconds over Tokyo

[@ronquixote1739]

Nothing new added in decades? How about Shattered Sword? It showed that the late launch from Tone actually sped up detection of the US fleet by at least 30 minutes, that the Japanese were never "a few minutes from launching" when the US dive bombers attacked, that the AL operation wasn't designed to draw the navy north, that Nagumo had the same intelligence as Yamamato, that Nagumo's dilemma didn't exist, that the Japanese pilot losses were similar to other battles, few pilots were lost on the carriers, and that it wasn't a turning point in the war. Check out that book--it has a lot of new insights to offer.

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

I thought it was a good movie. Though I know the events of WW2 in and out so I could follow the events that were happening and appreciated the level of historical accuracy put into the movie. I can still understand how someone who knows little about the Pacific front of WW2 could feel lost though.

[@bavtie1]

Quick lil' harmless correction (or addition I guess): Indonesia was controlled by the Dutch, not the French or British (it was still called Nederlands-Indië or the Dutch East Indies back then). But since the Netherlands itsself suffered the same fate as France with Nazi occupation they also indeed couldn't do much against the Japanese invasion.

[@CynicalHistorian]

Pretty sure I didn't say who controlled Indonesia though

[@bavtie1]

@@CynicalHistorian no, I guess not specifically. I believe you said France was occupied and Britain was on its last legs in the same sentence as "so Japan could take over Indonesia". Probably just a misunderstanding then!

[@ungrimironfist5740]

@@bavtie1 Indo China was French I believe. I.e what is today Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar(formerly Burma).

[@stvdagger8074]

​@@ungrimironfist5740 French Indochina was Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia. Burma was a British colony. Thailand was an independent kingdom. Thailand tried to take opportunity of the Nazi occupation of France by attacking French Indochina. Under pressure from Japan, they became Japanese allies.

[@dusk6159]

The underrated and unique battle of Peleliu could need some focus, films etc too, it would be great and lovely.

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

That's an entire episode of the show The Pacific, specifically the fight for the airfield.

[@williamt.sherman9841]

@@eldorados_lost_searcher shit I think it has two episodes dedicated to it. one focusing on the landing and one on the battle for the airfield.

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

Call of Duty World At War did that.

[@dusk6159]

I indeed meant an actual film, the only meaningful focus (so the one on The Pacific, greatly done of course - and the main focus, cause and actor for the existance of Rising Storm 1 as we know it too - ) has been carrying with nothing else for so long while Midway and Iwojima get multiple focus, movies and importance. Though obviously any kind of new meaningful material could do the trick too, at this point.

[@eldorados_lost_searcher]

@@dusk6159 Could be that Peleliu was found to be somewhat insignificant strategically afterward, so it's a major downer from a narrative standpoint. You'd have this epic, drag-out, horrifyingly brutal battle, one that doesn't have anything as iconic as the flag raising on Mt Suribachi, and with marines running out of basic necessities like water because the operation was supposed to just take a couple of days, and then text pops up acknowledging that either the threat posed by Peleliu or its usefulness after probably weren't worth the price paid for it. Not a chest thumping ending, and Hollywood is a little gun shy about big *expensive* films like that that wouldn't leave the audience feeling good. Hell, HBO even passed on a series about the Eighth Air Force. Just my opinion.

[@commonmanhomestead]

I'm one of those knuckle dragers that liked this movie😁

[@slick8038]

I like it, looks like I’m one too!😂

[@kjmmediapro]

Now honestly the movies legitimately good I don't understand his problems with it.

[@kjmmediapro]

It could have a had a smaller scope but that does not mean that it would be better with one. I have read a half dozen books on the picific war and I really enjoyed seeing it be brought to life. With that said yes pearl harbor was not great and the CGI was painful to look at but it really showed how the picific war started it graet detail and I think it deserves props for that

[@dressler666]

Loved this movie! there’s a lot of negative reviews on KZbin for this film tho

[@elliotholmstrom4]

I also really liked this movie. I can admit Its storytelling isn’t great but I still loved it

[@Kevin-pj4yd]

"KZbin turned me into Neville Chamberlain" That's your epitaph right there

[@Edax_Royeaux]

Poor Neville Chamberlain, he really got shafted by the historians. The man's signature is on Britain's declaration of war on Nazi Germany.

[@dawiem6310]

@@Edax_Royeaux Politely disagree - there is plenty of archive evidence that his aim was to nudge Hitler to destroying the USSR (after which UK and France'd step in and pick up the pieces). He wasn't naïve, he was a) cynical but b) also wrong and c) arrogant - Hitler and Stalin ran rings around him. The irony is that he was eventually forced out because of...one of Winston's cockups ie Norway. Good point, tho' re dec of war

[@aylmer666]

a weird mistake I noticed; those gunners at 11:36 appear to defend both the Hiryu and the Akagi during the battle scenes. Obviously the editors just re-used footage but it's funny to think that the same 2 guys survived the sinking of one carrier to rush over to the other and defend it in the exact same way, making the exact same facial expressions, only to suffer the same fate.

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

There are times I still don’t entirely wrap my mind around how _close_ to us they were in the war- until I see a map like the Area of Expansion one you showed; it’s no wonder they hit Darwin *so many* times (though only the first one gets attention; they hit Darwin a dozen times more than Pearl Harbour) - I believe they might have also hit the Top End of Queensland, like Townsville & Cairns- neither marked on the map. If it wasn’t for the pushbacks in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands & Guadalcanal...

[@g3i0r]

Gonna recommend the BBC's "20th Century Battlefields: 1942 Battle of Midway" (it's also on yt). It also has a very long buildup. But it's a documentary 😇

[@isaacschmitt4803]

You say "documentary" like its a bad thing. . . lol

[@brandonden795]

Is that the battlefield series? Idk if it was british but they went into detail of tons of ww2 battles, was a great series

[@Setebos]

@@brandonden795 Different series. I've also seen the "Battlefield" entry on Midway, and it's excellent.

[@Splattle101]

I thought Jonathan Parshall's 'Shattered Sword' (2007) added something to the English language historiography. He pulls apart Fuchida's account which seems to have been taken at face value by English language historians. The effect of this is to dispel the myth that the USN bombers happened to arrive just in time for the 5 minutes the Japanese were vulnerable. The reality appears to have been that the Japanese fleet were vulnerable for 40 min or more. This makes Spruance's decisions look less inspired and more a product of reason.

[@HackerWarrior84]

I really agree with you here. It's good history but not a great movie. It definitely needed a script doctor/historian combo to trim some of the fat. I can credit them for wanting to provide context and build up for the battle, all while not cramming in a love story and/or love triangle, but, like you said, they needed to pick their battles. One nitpick though, there were quite a few massacres directly following the Doolittle Raid, not helped by the Raiders giving items to the Chinese that helped them. Those gifts basically painted targets on anyone that didn't turn in the Raiders, and the Japanese definitely seemed to want to send a message of "This is what helping our enemies gets you". A good source for this, and the Doolittle Raid as a whole, is Target Tokyo by James Scott if you're interested.

[@ddgallion]

Thank you for the review. However, I do not believe it is accurate to suggest that scholarship has been stagnant and that nothing new has been added to the conversation in decades. To cite a single example, in my opinion, the book 'Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway' by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully from 2007 did exactly that. On a topic such as this, I am sure there many opinions.

[@Blazcowitz1943]

As a history buff I found the movie entertaining even if it is stretched far too thin. But I was glad the filmmakers included references to the Japanese reprisals against the Chinese for helping the Doolittle raiders, something that is often forgotten about (I knew as soon as the pilot handed his Zippo to the Chinese man as gift that he was doomed). Btw Cypher, would you ever consider reviewing "The Bounty"? From what I've heard most people say its the most accurate portrayal of the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty.

[@dusk6159]

Absolutely true, I agree, a well done part and reference.

[@isaacschmitt4803]

You know, now that I think about it, someone should make a movie about the USS Forrestal, specifically its infamous fire started by John McCain. Ok, so it was his plane that misfired a Zuni rocket, he didn't actually do it, but the story is interesting, tragic, and led to a lot of advances in safety and firefighting on ships. One hundred and thirty-four men lost their lives with one hundred and sixty-one more injured, very needlessly, due to the lackadaisical attitude towards fire safety aboard ships at the time. The first wave of casualties were the Damage Controllmen, the very people whose job it was to fight the fires. At the time, no one else had much training in firefighting, which is why everyone ships nowadays, from the greenest seaman to the most senior admiral, are expected to train onboard as firefighters and have at least a basic understanding of how to put one out, and continue training until they can lead the ship's firefighting themselves or until they get out. I'd be interested to see a movie following the events and memorializing the men that lost their lives, as well as an end credit demonstration of how that fire *should* have been fought. EDIT: A few people have pointed out that it was not McCain's F-4 that was responsible for the fire but a different one. The source for my information is the Navy's Basic Firefighting School. If you have a credible source that says otherwise, please supply it and I will amend my statement.

[@isaacschmitt4803]

@@brucetucker4847 I'm going to need your sources on that because this information came to me directly from the Navy in my firefighting training back in 2012.

[@isaacschmitt4803]

@Ron Lewenberg Again, I'm going to need a source that names the plane. I watched the deck camera footage as part of my training and don't recall seeing the names on the planes themselves, but I do recall the instructor telling us whose plane misfired. It could be that he was misinformed, but I don't see how his plane misfiring could possibly be a black mark on his career and used as a smear unless he was sitting in the cockpit at the time. Which he wasn't.

[@klipsfilmsmelbourne]

How come James bangert didn’t pled guilty his plane fire the Zuni rocket

[@yosefzanerva806]

One of my favorite scenes is at the end, while the Japanese Aircraft Carrier is sinking, and the Japanese captain declares that he's going down with the ship. The line "We'll enjoy the moon together" gets me every time.

[@marcostrydom5445]

I enjoyed this film emmensly, Although I feared it would be another soppy love story. It was well made and I saw it as almost a sequel to Tora Tora Tora.

[@Ranillon]

This video is good stuff, but you were wrong about there being nothing new about Midway over the last 40 years or so. In fact, there have been a number of big clarifications in the last 15 years. Please read the excellent book, Shattered Sword by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully, for the details. It significantly updates the original story from sources like Incredible Victory.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

Couldn't be worse than Pearl Harbor (2001).

[@dusk6159]

Well that's always granted and for sure.

[@matthewheywood8532]

It’s way better it just could have been great if a mini series to tell the whole story or focus more on on midway and forget the pre info as it is sped thru anyway

[@maximaldinotrap]

I mean, that one had the excuse of it's a romance film with the battle as a plot point

[@AskAScreenwriter]

Thanks once again! Another great entry. It's always frustrating when a relatively accurate historical film misses the mark on entertainment value. I'm torn between wanting to see people get more enthusiastically into history, but not wanting people to be misinformed. How many Americans get most of what they know about history from film and television already? You always do a good job of identifying that line! Good luck with your copyright battles!

[@davidswift7776]

Perhaps inadvertently, you’ve made me want to see this. Perhaps the new insight, considering you’ve given a heads up about its Helter Skelter approach from event to event. • btw, the copyright of FDR’s speech is absolutely mind boggling. Thanks again my cynical friend, and no mention of Woody W 👍

[@JenniferinIllinois]

"KZbin turned me into Neville Chamberlain" - OMG I'm dying!!!!!

[@storymaker299]

I liked the scene where the Japanese Navy Admirals are against their Army generals in a budget and strategy meeting. The way newer weapons systems and strategic capabilities are often discounted by more traditionalist higher ups is very realistic and something that still goes on in modern militaries.

[@Quincy_Morris]

The best thing about this movie was its grand scale. Not just picking one battle but showing a huge swath of the war covering multiple battles and how different battles and events influenced and lead to other battles and ultimately the battle of Midway, so the audience understands the stakes and the “state of the board” so to speak. A masterpiece of a film. Wish more war films had this grand scale style of storytelling.

[@michealcormier2555]

I liked the movie, but I feel it was miss titled. Had it focused solely on the exploits of the U.S.S. Enterprise during the first six months of the war, it would have made for a better film in my eyes. Not only was the titled battle only about an hour of the total movie, it was told strictly through the exploits of the Big E. I'm very disappointed that you left out Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully's "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midwy" published in 2005. This work really changed a lot of the scholarship surrounding the Battle. "Shattered Sword" tells the battle from the Japanese point of view using Japanese documents from that time, which hadn't been done prior. Before, most of the books written about the battle were from an American point of view that relied too much on Mitsuo Fuchida's narrative. Which have now largely been disputed by many historical scholars today. Much of the scholarship that has come out afterward has been heavily influenced by this book.

[@mishman44]

There is a book called rendezvous at Midway which was on the Yorktown. It would make a good movie and encompasses the Battle of Coral sea and Midway.

[@ph89787]

I agree and that's one of the reasons I like Battle 360. You have World War 2 is told from the perspective of one ship, with its crew adding depth to that story.

[@nickmitsialis]

@@mishman44 I finally caught on to that it was Enterprise focused; I recall as a kid reading 'The Big E', all about the Enterprise's war in the Pacific. The old lady endured a lot, but she was one of only two US Carriers who started the war and survived to the end of the war (Saratoga was the other one, I think); That's right, right? Lexington, Yorktown, Wasp and Hornet were all sunk by the time Guadacanal got wrapped up, so we just had Enterprise and Saratoga (both scarred old ladies)left before the Essex class started coming in. In a way, I would have liked if the other carriers like Lexington and Yorktown got better 'representation' in the film but then...how long would the movie have been?

[@teddyrooseveltguy]

The reprisal massacre of the doolitle raid is mentioned in "30 seconds over Tokyo". Chiang Kai-shek tells Lawson about it when they meet. I don't know if that counts as scholarly, but that's probably how it got into the film

[@CynicalHistorian]

i was trying to find where that came from, but seems Chiang is the only source

[@mr.m1garand254]

I loved this movie, thought it was the best portrayal of the events leading up to it and the battle itself. Including the failed torpedo attacks, army bomber failures and our torpedoes lack of reliability. And that's probably cause I've been reading about ww2 since I was 8. I can understand why to a regular person it can seem confusing lol

[@stvdagger8074]

One trivial nit I cannot resist picking : In the 1937 scene in Japan the British Naval Attache tells Layton that he would prefer to meet the Japanese over the sights of a 14 inch gun. However, in 1937 the Royal Navy had no 14 inch guns, their battleships used 15 & 16 inch guns.

[@timelordvictorious8610]

I enjoyed this one. Not sure if my experience was altered by already knowing a good chunk of WWII pacific theater knowledge, but I was able to know the events everything referenced and followed it pretty well. I especially loved the air raid scenes, even if some looked exaggerated for the dives. Not sure how accurate that aspect was.

[@timelordvictorious8610]

Johnny Dominguez I knew the stall was pure fiction, but yeah those dives were cool

[@brianholmes1812]

Chiang Kai-Shek, the leader of the Chinese nationalist party, did tell Roosevelt that he attributed 250,000 Chinese massacred as reprisal for the Doolittle raid, although its hotly debated, especially the numbers

[@CynicalHistorian]

do you have a source for that?

[@brianholmes1812]

@@CynicalHistorian www.smithsonianmag.com/history/untold-story-vengeful-japanese-attack-doolittle-raid-180955001/ I don't have anything particularly scholarly on hand, but here's a Smithsonian article on it

[@CynicalHistorian]

@@brianholmes1812 definitely would like to see something more substantial than Chiang saying, "After they had been caught unawares by the falling of American bombs on Tokyo, Japanese troops attacked the coastal areas of China, where many of the American fliers had landed...These Japanese troops slaughtered every man, woman and child in those areas. Let me repeat-these Japanese troops slaughtered every man, woman and child in those areas.” - Like has anyone substantiated his claim? Also this article doesn't give a number and is mostly focused on other Japanese atrocities. To me it just seems like Chiang was trying to appease Americans. Less than 50 Japanese died in the raid, so that would be a disproportionate response to say the least

[@brianholmes1812]

@@CynicalHistorian that's fair. In all honesty I'd heard the figures only in stuff I'd refer to as "popcorn history". Interesting, entertaining and somewhat accurate, but nothing I'd ideally source. But looking further I haven't seen much substantial evidence on these figures. My guess would be a historical game of Chinese whispers, where somebody pulled the figure out of their ass, somebody cited them, and then somebody else cited them, and so on till it filtered down to me. I will say though that a "proportional response" doesn't seem like Imperial Japan's MO when it came to China in particular

[@markwilliams2620]

Damnable movie. Had so many things right yet managed to be so Emmerich at the wrong time. Dick Best's landing being oh so cliche'.

[@williamt.sherman9841]

biggest problem with the movie is too much focused on boring cliché's characters rather than the complex and interesting first 6 months of the pacific campaign.

[@arachnofiend2859]

When I watched this movie with my family I had to explain to my mom afterwards that Midway was a decisive victory. The usual desperate underdog framing that you see in these types of movies really confused the narrative.

[@dusk6159]

Facts, you're right, sadly in this kind of fiction it's usually about artificial phatos, harsh odds and difficulties, without even mentioning the whole war progression too (from "no chance, and hopelessly so" for Japan to "even more doomed, by hopeless steamrolling").

[@Ukraineaissance2014]

@@dusk6159 what?

[@tcofield1967]

Good points made. There were several things about the flick that turned me off but you are right, it spent too much time trying to describe the events leading up to the Midway Battle and not enough time on the actual battle itself. That would have been fine if the lead up actually connected the dots into defining point of the film, like Tora Tora Tora did but it didn't. Instead it made the actual battle seem rushed and disjointed. I had other issues, to include overacting in some areas, an over-reliance on the big boom special effects, and at times dialogue that seemed more appropriate to a John Wayne film from 1944 than a modern film but your assessment of the flow of the film is spot on.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Like most bits of WWII media, this one suffers from a case of focusing on something that’s already been done to death. The largest conflict in human history and yet it’s always the same few topics that get covered. Always the same battles. Here are some lesser-known subjects of the Pacific theater worthy of more pop-history attention: The naval portion of the Guadalcanal and Solomon Islands campaign - by the end of hostilities at Guadalcanal, more naval personnel would die than Marines or Army. The first battle of Savo Island is the worst competitive naval defeat in US history, you can do so much to impart tension and dread and fear of the dark by highlighting that the Japanese navy had better night optics at this point. You can do so much. The 11th Airborne - Not only the culmination of all the US airborne experiences up to that point, but the best trained US airborne division (eventually becoming almost entirely cross-trained as both glider infantry and parachute infantry) and honestly, probably the most IMPORTANT airborne division of the war in terms of present and future US doctrine. These guys saved the airborne divisional concept AND were using air-mobile tactics without the helicopters. Marine Raiders - nuff said, even though I’m tired of these fucking jarheads getting all the glory when the army eventually does the lionshare of the fighting and the Navy losses are just as bad. Anything involving the Philippines campaign - The return specifically, but I’ll take the 1941 fall or even something involving the resistance groups. The whole thing is a real blindspot in pop-history. A separate Philippine army fought in 41 - 42 and would fight in 45 so where is their film? How about some fucking Aussies and Kiwis - The Kokoda track or some other involvement, they fought real hard. Maybe covering the post-war occupation if French Indo-China but that’s getting into mainland Asia. Saipan. Just Saipan. That one time US soldiers and sailors and Aussie police basically turned Melbourne into a fucking conflict zone. That would be funny to see. Anyone done a Wake island movie yet? All that said, far as I’m concerned, a country that’s still largely in denial about its atrocities doesn’t get to have the “Dedicated to men from both sides” treatment at the end of a film. That’s real fucking weak from Emmerich but I can’t say I was surprised by it.

[@nickmitsialis]

Well...just because I'm being snarky: I've heard rumors the Aussies and Kiwis AND the Philippines have a film industry of their own; Hell, the Oz film industry turns out some pretty good War movies (Danger Close and, yes, even one for Kokoda!)

[@JohnSmith-qq7fm]

You went full Chamberlain, man. Never go full Chamberlain.

[@stvdagger8074]

If you go full Wilt Chamberlain, remember to use protection.

[@oldgringo2001]

4:25 Cypher, they didn't launch early to evade detection; they had already been detected. It took a long time to sink the two patrol boats, and the Japanese received warning from those boats before they were disabled. I don't claim to know who made actually the decision to launch early. It doesn't sound to me like Halsey, the man who went charging off after the decoy carriers at Leyte Gulf. I think I read somewhere that the contingency plan was to ditch the B-25s overboard to clear the flight deck so Enterprise could launch its own fighters; I could see Halsey, perhaps after talking with Doolittle, allowing the launch.

[@lawsonashurst7314]

I actually had a good time with it :-/

[@pascoett]

Now, I want to watch this! I was a kid and stumbled upon this battle reading my first WW2 book in the eighties (the section was written by Vice Admiral Friedrich Ruge).

[@UGNAvalon]

I have to disagree with you regarding your “honor Japanese sailors” point. Sure, the military as a whole (& even individuals) were portrayed as being cruel to those not on equal terms with the Japanese (ie the Chinese & POWs); but in the heat of battle, the film portrayed the Japanese sailors fairly “sympathetically(?)”, as young men facing unfavorable odds against a (surprisingly-)powerful adversary. The way they mourned the losses of their comrades & ships, I’d say that the Japanese were portrayed in the same light as we would’ve seen the Americans had we seen the pilots/sailors reacting to Coral Sea or the loss of Yorktown. (I won’t go so far as to say that the Japanese POV could be compared to the Americans immediately following Pearl; nothing can compare to that sudden/surprise curbstomp of a slaughter.) War is Hell, and the Japanese Navy suffered just as much as the Americans did during the Pacific Theater.

[@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThis]

Subscribed, found your channel through history buffs and loving the work sir

[@redcoatgaming4141]

Wait if Cypher is now Neville Chamberlain. Who KZbin's Winston Churchill

[@LiamHickey2967]

Call me Kevin😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@DeanNickChase]

Leafy, probably

[@Legiondude]

Can anyone explain to me why Yamamoto was holding Grant's memoirs in the final scene, was that for historical or narrative purpose? Haven't heard a good answer online yet

[@BirchBarlow]

@Johnny Dominguez Harvard 1919-21 harvardmagazine.com/2010/07/lessons-in-surprise

[@principalityofbelka6310]

I don't think that rearming the planes to attack the enemy fleet would take that long since only the loadout of the torpedo bombers are being changed. However it is important to note that: 1. In that time of battle Nagumo was in a dilemma because the Americans are constantly attacking his fleet and hindering his ability to launch a strike force. 2. The strike force against Midway is still returning and then he received report that there's an enemy surface fleet northeast of his position but he doesn't have the enemy's exact composition (is it a task force with a carrier or a mere surface fleet with no carriers?). 3. His decision to rearm all of the bombers and launch a full strike is purely doctrinal and logical since he still has to wait for the Midway strike force to return and then wait for a 45 minute window to launch his strike force. In my opinion the battle is already doomed from the start for the Japanese since the Americans already know when and where the Japanese are coming and the movie actually depicts it well. The Japanese assumed that the Americans won't know they're coming and the movie depicts it well in the scene where Nagumo is doing a wargame for the upcoming operation. There's actually a detailed video about the battle of Midway made by a youtuber named Montemayor and his explanation is very detailed. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJWbkKmFat-loNE

[@nunyabusiness6699]

Don’t you find it funny; the most unbelievable moments of the film are the most accurate?

[@user-pn5cc4uj9w]

a miniseries drama about midway would be fantastic

[@tomcruz8615]

Finally! I've been waiting on your take on this!!

[@earllovejr9300]

Tom Cruz me too!

[@kjmmediapro]

Me too. Wish it was a good take

[@SpookLord03]

I thought the film was great and enjoyed it.

[@youdoitillwatch]

This movie is a terrible drama. But it's the best WWII historical reenactment ever made.

[@wolfbyte3171]

Not that anyone cares, but there only a few major inaccuracies I remember from seeing the movie (I haven't watched it since I saw it in theaters so forgive me for any I missed): USS Nautilus is seen trying to torpedo an aircraft carrier (the Hiryu?), when it was really trying to attack the battleship Kirishima (the sub is the reason Arashi broke away and had to run back to the fleet, it tried to hunt the sub but failed). The B-17s from Midway are completely absent, with the B-26s taking their place. One B-26 *did* try to ram into an aircraft carrier, but it was on a torpedo run, not level bombing. I can't remember if they showed the Avengers from Midway either.

[@stvdagger8074]

They did show a B-17 landing on Midway's airstrip during John Ford's arrival scene. As to their contribution to the battle, they bombed from high up and scored no hits while they were largely avoided by the zeroes, so omitting them was no great loss. A larger omission is US fighters. Did you see any Wildcats or Buffaloes? Were is John Thach?

[@sammy7335]

Quick query as a high school history teacher, what do you think of crafting lessons based upon student created art that interprets history? I've been wondering what your views on subjective analysis of history. I personally feel that while purely factual based education is of course needed, I think I want to have my subject matter resonate with my students on a personal level so that they might remember the lessons and values of the past. I know this risks romanticism, but perhaps a bit of it is needed, since we humans have such a significant attachment to emotional reactions. What do you think?

[@CynicalHistorian]

art as in paintings? I suppose it works as an assignment, though I wouldn't know how to evaluate them on it. A subject lesson I remember from high school was about WWI. The teacher had us flip the desks on their side and build two opposing "trenches" - then we used paper balls as projectiles and engaged in a "battle." That's something that's really stuck with me. Museums use participatory experiences to teach all the time, and I think that can always help - so maybe engineering art creation to be somehow representative of the time you're talking about. I dunno really, but varying the way we teach is immensely important - since people learn differently

[@sammy7335]

@@CynicalHistorian that's cool! I'd assess it based entirely upon the effort that went into the piece (not just paintings, but any creative piece) as well as the knowledge displayed in their explanation for elements of their work both in factual basis and in emotional aspects.

[@sammy7335]

@Johnny Dominguez thanks for the recommendation! I also wanted to show them the Patriot as a way to have them appreciate art and propaganda, as well as how history is misused to push narratives.

[@allisonwilliams4536]

It was very interesting hearing your critiques. My boyfriend and I recently watched Midway and we both enjoyed it. (We went knowing it was a Roland film and were fine with that). We appreciated having the background/buildup to the battle of Midway as we're both Canadians who don't really know anything about the Pacific Theatre of World War II - I have a vague knowledge of Pearl Harbour and my boyfriend didn't know anything. We both liked learning about a part of the War that neither of us are totally familiar with - a lot of the World War II history in Canada, at least when the two of us grew up, was focused on the European theatre and the liberation of the Netherlands. Sometimes Japanese internment camps were touched upon but I always felt that the context was missing - for example, I had classmates ask why the Japanese were interred. They genuinely didn't know that Canada was also at war with Japan. I only had a vague idea because one of my great-grandfathers served in the Canadian Navy during the war and was stationed in British Columbia (I believe he was in Victoria...)

[@matthewoliver6629]

for me at least, i really enjoyed midway, I knew most of the history from documentaries and youtube, so it was cool to see a lot of the little things they got right.

[@Ajaws]

To make a good WW2 the story has to be good. You can’t just have spectacle

[@maximaldinotrap]

@The Cynical Historian, there was a guy on a clip video of this movie trying to claim that his grandfather flew b-26s off of a mercenary aircraft carrier in this battle that scored hits on a Japanese carrier during the battle. I, and many others called bullshit on this person and he started telling us to look it up without providing any sources to even look up. It was his job to provide evidence and he failed. I know this isn't about the video but it was related to the event the movie covers.

[@Sireth]

When this movie came out, there was an article written about its dedication to the Japanese sailors who died, basically saying it was offensive to the Americans who fought in the war. I'm paraphrasing but, a quote from it was, "Imagine the outrage if a Battle of the Bulge movie was dedicated to the Nazis who died in that battle." I don't like how there's a double standard between the Germans and the Japanese regarding their roles in WWII and, I believe that double standard is why the Japanese actively deny what they did during the war.

[@gnarkillguch]

I'm so tired of the narrative of 'every German soldier was a bloodthirsty baby killer, and we should never show any sort of sympathetic or non biased view of the average German troop.' There were TONS of incredible and honorable soldiers and officers that fought against us in WW2. It's such a fascinating part of history, and painting it with such a broad brush is just insulting.

[@TheEstebandido83]

Same logic with putting statues of confederate soldiers in the middle of a public park for everyone to see...

[@6038am]

Sabatons Bismark music video, or the World of Warships Short Film Wait for Me, is dedicated to both sides. So it can be don, you just have to do it right.

[@username65585]

Estebandido22 That was an effort of reconciliation between the North and the South. Union soldiers who were directly involved in the conflict were fine with those statues being built.

[@6038am]

@@gnarkillguch Yea, and off all things it's Sbaton that has informed me about those stories, for all over the world and history. For ww 2 and Germany, No Bulllets Fly, and Hearts of Iron comes to mind.

[@A_Box]

I actually prefer how the movie told the story. The narrative is the war. If anything I was afraid that it wasn't accurate. Wouldn't change a thing from this movie. 10/10 Would definitely watch again... eventually.

[@ErkCarlson]

Still a better Pearl Harbor movie then the one with Batman in it.

[@rembrandt972ify]

Twilight was a better Pearl Harbor movie than the one with Batman in it. Pearl Harbor was a better love story than Twilight, though. :P

[@stvdagger8074]

I did not know that Adam West was in Tora Tora Tora! Was he playing Admiral Stark?

[@raymonderohjr1116]

Didn't like the fact they had all those scenes that were unrelated to the battle but ran out of time to show the Yorktown being attacked. They just mention it in passing in the film. Agree stick to the battle.

[@skribeworks]

So much this. Yorktown *almost* survived. Her story deserves a movie in itself.

[@Corsair37]

To be fair, this movie is more focused on the Enterprise and Dick Best, so I wasn't surprised that the Yorktown (or the Hornet for that matter) did no figure more prominently in this film.

[@lord_boneman]

Yo Cypher, small question. Have you seen or heard of the Fate/ series? Seems like an out of left field thing that could be hella interesting.

[@CynicalHistorian]

never heard of it

[@lord_boneman]

The Cynical Historian it’s an anime/game series focused on summoning historical figures. It’s obviously more on the fiction side, but it seems like it would be fun to look into.

[@nickmitsialis]

Here's a totally silly question: in the opening scene where Best's wife and daughter can see the attack on Pearl from their front lawn? Was/Is there civilian housing that's line of sight to Battleship Row or was it just dramatic license?

[@CynicalHistorian]

in some of the pictures from Japanese craft, you can actually see the housing, and that's pretty accurate

[@chillcosby2490]

I rented this out of boredom and didnt expect much. Ended up enjoying it alot, I liked looking up the details to confirm what had basis in actual history.

[@seanbeadles7421]

I love how two famous pilots of WWII are Dick Best and (Major) Dick Bong.

[@republicempire446]

I do agree with you. That’s why they should start the film with opening narration similar to Gettysburg. Short but simple.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

@The Cynical Historian Would you do a video about Joseph Roachfort?

[@raymondleggs5508]

This movie is basically a history channel miniseries with a bigger budget.

[@davidsumner7604]

I agree with the flaws but I still liked the movie overall. It would work well as a teaching aid in conjunction with other material about the war. I also really liked how it demonstrated the superiority of dive bombing to torpedo's and the flying sequences did a decent job of giving me vertigo.

[@abandonedchannel281]

Everyone gangsta till the Nazis copyright a FDR speech

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

I wouldn't put Midway as particularly decisive in and of itself, the Coral Sea and Philippine Sea would both have a wider effect, with the Coral Sea effectively being the first check on their expansion, revealing weaknesses in their carrier doctrine and the Philippine Sea annihilating the IJN carrier based aviation force as a factor in the war from that point onward. Even had the IJN achieved a complete victory it could not carry out a successful invasion or blockade of Hawaii. An IJN victory would not have remotely affected the end result of what a war of attrition with the US would lead to. Midway itself would be fairly easy to reconquer for the US and Japan could not successfully invade either Australia or India nor knock China out of the war. With US production, manpower and the constant threat of the Soviets(since the non aggression pact was always fragile) Japan's defeat was a forgone conclusion as early as the very beginning of their offensive against the UK, US and Netherlands. With Allied codebreakers intelligence coup against Japan, the vast differences in manpower, resources and industrial capability, in order to 'win' Japan had to consistently achieve perfect victories with virtually no losses as it could not replace naval losses effectively and without a strong naval presence, the gains made by the IJA were ridiculously isolated and not self sufficient in any way requiring taxing amounts of resupply that the Japanese simply didn't have the shipping capacity to supply. Finally with Japan's critical shortage of oil(ironic as in 1952 Manchuria was found to have one of the largest oil reservoirs in the world) even HAD they not lost large elements of their navy they could not effectively fuel that navy for more than two years effectively. Japan quite literally committed suicide when it entered a war with the United States, documents, letters and memoirs of the IJN and IJA as well as governmental officials reveal that without a negotiated peace within a year or two at most, there was absolutely no chance of victory.

[@nickmitsialis]

Aircrews didnt' suffer such heavy losses in Midway==I think a lot of the attack & fighter planes ditched and were recovered; however, where the REALLY heavy losses were suffered by the surviving 'Elite'(and I do NOT use that word lightly, considering their experience and training) torpedo and dive bomber crews (and the fighters as well) was the carrier battles at Guadacanal. The New Quad Mount 40mm guns on all the ships and those new 'anti aircraft cruisers' took a terrible toll of the crews from (forgive the spelling) Shokaku and Zuikaku. Many times even after a hotshot dive bomber or torpedo bomber pilot successfully launched his bomb or his 'fish' and hit the target, shortly after that he was blown apart by a 40mm shell.

[@JeffLMB]

Thats the main problem I had with this movie, It was basically Pearl Harbor to Midway, instead of covering Midway itself. the movie could've been so much better if they started it with the aftermath of the Coral Sea, and spent more time focusing on the actual battle of midway itself

[@jstappin]

Compared to many other movies out there, this was actually very well done and much of the jingoism as he calls it was confirmed by primary sources and witnesses

[@alexisdeleon9512]

"KZbin turned me into Neville Chamberlain" *suddenly an ad for Budweiser beer pops up* Good video and analysis Cypher. I agree with you that this movie is unfocused. While watching, I can't figure out whether this movie was trying to focus on Midway, or Pearl Harbour, or the Doolittle Raid etc because there are so many threads and plot lines that end up on this film. The battle of Midway itself should have been given focus,. There were scenes where American torpedo bombers were getting ambushed and shot down and had I not watched Invicta's breakdown of Midway beforehand as part of the movie hype I would not have understood what was happening. That said, I still enjoyed this movie despite its flaws. Could do with a little more focus.

[@oldgus01]

"Leave the history lessons to the professionals". -- Professional Historian/History Teacher Not sure if this burn is stronger or weaker considering the person saying it.... I mean, you KNOW when a professional says it, they mean it, but you also know you done goofed when a layman spots your lacking.

[@DATA-qt3nb]

Neville Chamberlin...thats hilarious man, you should be a stand up history comic ;D

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

Woody Harrelson looks like "Bad Day At Black Rock" Spencer Tracy in this movie.

[@Paolo-sw8ys]

Actually in the early years of the war, one of the Japanese Zero pilots favorite moves was to take their Zero up into a stall knowing that the American 4F4 Wild Cat's ceiling was not as high as the A6M Zeros... This would allow a Zero to go from being the prey to being the predator when the Wild Cat would stall first and at lower altitude, which of course allowed the Zero to get in behind him and get the kill... Reason why this was so significant is because the Wild Cat was replaced by it's bigger more powerful brother the Hell Cat which had a higher ceiling than the zero, and much to the surprise of the Zero pilots, found out the hard way that trying this "stall maneuver" was only sealing their own death... This false sense of ceiling superiority led to many Zeros losses, and worse, the loss of seasoned battle hardened Japanese pilots who never were able to be replaced...

[@nickmitsialis]

To be honest, until Coral Sea I don't think US Naval aviators met the Zero; in the Marshalls raids and the raid on Lae/Salamua in New Guinea, the only fighters were the fixed landing gear 'Claude' (that's the navy one right?) and some VERY spunky float biplanes who proved to be very 'salty' in the air in spite of the mismatch. But from reading Lundstrom's 'first team' books I came to the conclusion that the IJN Zeros shot down more wildcats than their own losses, at least until 'The Canal'--which makes sense when the USN pilots (though well trained in things like deflection gunnery) were pretty green to the ways of combat, whereas the IJN pilots were not only extremely well trained they were also combat experienced. It seemed the only losses suffered by Zero pilots were when they would overshoot an F4F and the USN pilot got a chance to 'snap shot' at the Zero as it passed.

[@Paolo-sw8ys]

@@nickmitsialis The Curtiss P-36-Hawk was the first US fighter to see combat and get kills against the Zero in WWII during the Pearl Harbor raid on December 7th, 1941... The Wildcat was built in the 30's and was no match for the Zero head to head... The Zero's superiority required coordinated attacks from the Wildcat to be affective with the most notable and successful tactic being the "Thach Weave"... The Hellcat however, introduced in 1942, was the Zero's worst nightmare with a 13:1 kill ratio in the Pacific... It was also designed exclusively for the Navy and carrier use...

[@nickmitsialis]

@@Paolo-sw8ys Yes to all points but at the time the only place you were going to encounter a Zero was during an encounter with an IJN Carrier battlegroup or if you were unlucky enough to be over New Guinea after the Tainan wing arrived at Lae/Salamaua. Reading about the Thach weave (Wasn't Jimmy Thach almost 40?) in the Lundstrom books, it seemed when he tried it the first time, he didn't have time to discuss it beforehand with his wingies, but he survived and then helped 'hammer out' the details at debrief.

[@Paolo-sw8ys]

@@nickmitsialis Yes, the carrier battles typically employed different plane variants than land based planes... Other than the infamous Zero, I don't know too much about the Japanese's other variants, but I do know that the US had a stable of land based planes that in many respects were superior to anything in the entire WWII conflict... Obviously the P-51 Mustang, but the Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a fantastic and versatile fighter as well with the Germans calling it the "fork tailed devil"... The Corsair had some drawbacks, especially as a carrier based plane, but it was fast and it too was a good plane worthy of mentioning... Britain's Spitfire was fantastic as well... But being that the carrier emerged as THE most important weapon for success in the Pacific theater, the Hellcat was a special plane and doesn't get the attention it deserves from the history books... And yes some of that might be due to it only serving for the second half of WWII, but even with it's short service time it still racked up the most kills of any carrier based plane in WWII...

[@nickmitsialis]

@@Paolo-sw8ys RE: the Lightning...I wouldn't take it into a turnfight with a Zero or an Oscar BUT...having two engines was a HUGE plus when flying long distances over water--and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the P38's firepower.

[@brandonschwertley2723]

One point I want to critic is the use of the stall maneuver. While certainly not something every pilot would be skilled enough, willing enough, or have the correct parameters to pull it off, there are anecdotal stories of its use in WW2. One particular example comes to mind from the European Theater of Operations, with P51 Mustangs and BF109 K4 fighter craft. I have heard of accounts from P51 Mustang pilots using such a maneuver if they had difficulty in shaking someone from their tail. Definitely risky, and it requires skill, but it could be done as a last ditch hail mary move in desperation. Obviously the film does not depict a P51 Mustang pulling this maneuver, instead is shows what appears to be an SBD Dauntless, so not exactly an apples to apples comparison. However I do still think some poor desperate pilot could have tried such a maneuver. Since not doing anything would eventually lead to you being shot down.

[@direwolf6234]

for those of us with a knowledge of the events the detailed battle scenes and accuracy of equipment as well as the computer generated 'in the cockpit' perspective was thrilling.... lots of action and all the while filling in other major events of the early pacific war....

[@vinnie-lm6dy]

They did it better then i expected 3 major events at that theatre in 1 movie and expected it to be bad

[@coyotehater]

On a different subject, this November will be the 50th anniversary of the Marshall football team plane crash. Would you be willing to do a review of the 2006 movie We Are Marshall? Thanks!

[@michaelminervini1908]

12:35 I completely disagree. Too many historical movies ruin it by trying to create a single protagonist. I loved that Midway didn't have one main character. This made the whole thing feel bigger.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

I felt the Isoroku (2011) film did a good job of portraying the cradle to grave war movie concept, since it was about a single figure like Patton. It did a pretty good job of portraying Midway, even if it was only for like 10 minutes. Although I have to wonder if Japanese pacifist propaganda was distorting history in Isoroku.

[@AshlandMan]

Awesome review! Any chance you'd do Danger Close (2019) for your Aussie viewers? Even a short video.

[@annadau8612]

The wreckage of the Akagi and the Kaga were found the month before the film's premiere.

[@bryansteele832]

I don't why they wasted time on the doolittle raid. Poor Aaron Eckhart. It's like Hi, I'm going to disappear for the next 90 minutes.

[@graboid78]

The Doolittle Raid was the event that prompted the Japanese Navy to launch the Midway attack, so including it was useful to give context but yes it was rushed and Aaron Eckhart really didn't get time to shine

[@SMERSH_BERSH]

I honestly don’t mind them dedicating the film to Japanese sailors as well

[@jaegerbomb269]

While I can't argue with the flaws of this film, it's a guilty pleasure to me.

[@Burkutace27]

At least we get new Sabaton music videos out of this. Can't have too many of those.

[@frankiefierro7129]

No joke, i got into sabaton because of "Poltava" put over a movie battle

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

I don't care what gets said, "Anonymous" was legit intriguing. Emmerch/Devlin's "Godzilla" is the only one worth watching. "The Patriot" is mostly rousing fiction. And "10,000 B.C." is fun mythology. Keep your "Stonewall" - I don't get down like that.

[@theshenpartei]

Will you do a video on dark waters, Richard jewell or last full measure at some point down the line?

[@23foger]

Why does no one ever mention that fact that the B-25 has completely the wrong markings on top of the wing. Seriously that one pissed me off because its like they didnt even try. All they did was put a red dot in the center of the standard stars and bars which they knew was completely wrong since they put the correct markings on the sides of the bombers