Dauntless: The Battle of Midway was directed by Mike Phillips who also did the 2012 movie Fortress which I very much enjoyed, so I was interested to see his version of the Midway story
I've been a bit bummed seeing negative reviews for this film, a lot of them dismissed it based solely on the effects or dubbed it a rip-off of the Roland Emmerich movie.
I don't find the "rip-off" claim fair, they are both movies about the same battle but focus on different elements. Emmerich's film is about the prelude to the battle and the pilots during the battle. Dauntless focuses on the post-battle tensions and the crews that didn't make it back to their carriers. Saying this movie ripped off Emmerich is like saying Saving Private Ryan is a rip off of The Longest Day because both movies have the D-Day landings.
As for the effects, I'll take a CGI model that looks like a WWII ship over using a modern day ship as a stand in any day. They do some pretty sweet tricks here and there are a few bits of the Dauntless bombers flying around that actually look pretty damn awesome.
Watching the making of features on YouTube, the filmmakers made sure they were being as accurate as possible. It's much better than Pearl Harbor having the Japanese launch off nuclear powered Aircraft Carriers for the attack sequences.
They even used the director's porch as a stand in for a carrier deck, I was pretty amazed. I wouldn't have thought that was what that was they did until I watched the making of. It's pretty slick.
The actors do a pretty nice job here, Judd Nelson actually makes for a pretty great portrayal of Raymond Spruance, he really captures the emotion of a man who wants to win the battle but is just emotionally broken by the costs. Whereas C Thomas Howell as Miles Browning is just a heartless bastard.
Jade Wiley was a stand out as Norman Vandivier, it must've been hell to float in the water with sun-burnt make up being applied but Wiley does it well. He has a good screen chemistry with John Enick who plays his tail gunner Lee Keaney.
Dauntless is a pretty sweet little WWII movie, I was glad I watched it. I really hope Mike Philips and his crew can make another film. They really care about having accurate details and I really dig that. This and Fortress are a real treat for war film buffs.
Definitely see Dauntless, it's a very good movie.
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