This movie starts off with the famous "Doolittle Raid" on Japan by B-25 bombers taking off from the U.S.S. Hornet. Although the actual raid didn't do much damage it essentially resulted in the Japanese decision to attempt another surprise attack upon the American fleet. This time however, rather than attack Pearl Harbor, the Japanese navy decided to invade Midway and hoped to catch what few American carriers were left out in the open for a decisive battle. Now, although this movie doesn't have the special effects that "Tora! Tora! Tora!" had 6 years earlier it does have more in-depth characters and better acting. Likewise, from an American point-of-view it also has a better historical ending than the aforementioned film. On the other hand, as mentioned earlier "Tora! Tora! Tora!" had outstanding special effects and action and in an apparent effort to bolster these two areas "Midway" reuses some footage from that movie along with film from actual World War 2 tape. Some might like that but I thought it was a bit cheap and dishonest. Be that as it may, I figure the entertainment value is still pretty good and I rate this movie as slightly above average.

This lavish production by Walter Mirish reenacts the events up to famous battle from both American and Japanese points of view . Midway became notorious battle as the site of the overwhelming victory of American carrier forcer over the Japanese fleet . This was the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare which shifted the balance of power in the Pacific . Between 4 and 7 June 1942, only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea, the United States Navy under Admirals Chester Nimitz (Henry Fonda) , Frank Jack Fletcher (Robert Webber),and Raymond A. Spruance (Glenn Ford) decisively defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy under Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto (Toshiro Mifune) , Chuichi Nagumo (James Shigeta) , and Nobutake Kondo near Midway Atoll, inflicting devastating damage on the Japanese fleet that proved irreparable. It was Japan's first naval defeat since the Battle of Shimonoseki Straits in 1863 . The Japanese operation, like the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor, sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific, thereby giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . The Japanese hoped that another demoralizing defeat would force the U.S. to capitulate in the Pacific War and thus ensure Japanese dominance in the Pacific. The Japanese plan was to lure the United States' aircraft carriers into a trap. The Japanese also intended to occupy Midway as part of an overall plan to extend their defensive perimeter in response to the Doolittle air raid on Tokyo. This operation was also considered preparatory for further attacks against Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii itself.

The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction and poor initial dispositions . Most significantly, American code-breakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush. All four Japanese heavy aircraft carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu, part of the six-carrier force that had attacked Pearl Harbor six months earlier—and a heavy cruiser were sunk at a cost of the carrier Yorktown and a destroyer . After Midway and the exhausting attrition of the Solomon Islands campaign, Japan's capacity to replace its losses in material (particularly aircraft carriers) and men (especially well-trained pilots) rapidly became insufficient to cope with mounting casualties, while the United States' massive industrial capabilities made American losses far easier to bear . The Battle of Midway, in combination with the Soviet victory against Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad half a year later, are considered by some to be the turning points of the Second World War .

A historical picture with well staged scenes , it is accurate and being faithfully based on facts . well documented script shows major and minor blundering on both sides , creating tension enough . Great actors were assembled to bring to the big screen this important battle of WWII . Although many well-known players contribute their skills , they are overshadowed by the realistic re-creation of the climatic attack , abounding stock footage , and shots taken from Tora Tora Tora ! picture . Tremendous scenes , spectacular battles , drama that maintains interest , lots of dogfighting and awesome production design and art design by Walter Tyler . Nevertheless , a subplot involving Charlton Heston , his son Edward Abert and his girlfriend , a Japanese girl is really out of place . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Harry Stradling . Rousing and classic musical score by the great John Williams . The motion picture was professionally directed by Jack Smight.

I was very predisposed to like this film. So, when it debuted I went to the theater to see it when I was 12. Sadly, I noticed that the film was an abysmal mess. The only thing GOOD about the film was the rumbling of the Sensurround sound system at the very beginning (when it showed a bit from the Doolittle Raid). I saw it on TV years later, and it hadn't gotten any better.

The movie is about half acting and half old stock footage from WW2 air battles. The parts created by the studio were okay--lots of competent actors doing an adequate, though not especially inspiring jobs. However, the stock footage shows complete contempt for the audience. I am pretty knowledgeable about WW2 aircraft (and was as a kid, too) and I was very irritated to see planes in the movie that were not even in use until after the June 1942 battle. I guess this is sloppy but forgivable. But, to show stock footage of planes that literally change from one type of plane to another in mid-flight shows utter contempt for the viewers (MANY of which will spot these flaws). For example, you might see a dive bomber diving on a ship and then it shifts away to another angle and it is now a torpedo plane or fighter. These sorts of things happened A LOT--not just once or twice. Sometimes, the color of the plane even changed. And, to top it off, much of the footage was EXCEPTIONALLY grainy and unusable. And some, like the plane that splits in half on landing, have been shown 1001 times on documentaries, so they're terribly familiar.

Now I am not saying they should have blown up valuable planes just for our entertainment, but come off it folks! Films such as "The Battle of Britain" and "Tora, Tora, Tora" did a much better job of at least ATTEMPTING to get it right!! They used models, existing planes and similar planes--not grainy footage randomly thrown together. This along with a little modern content does NOT make an acceptable movie to pawn off on the unsuspecting public.