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 2018, and filming began in Hawaii. Some filming also took place in Montreal. With a production budget of $100million, it is to date one of the most expensive independent films of all time.
Midway was theatrically released by Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment in the United States on November8, 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 the $100 million budget.[5]
Plot
In December 1937, Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Layton, an American naval attaché intelligence officer, is warned during a state function by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto that, because 80% of Japan's oil is imported, if the US were to threaten their oil supply then the Japanese would have no choice but to wage war.
On December 7, 1941, during World War II, following the US's decision to cut off Japan's oil supply, the Japanese launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, forcing the US to enter the war. In response, naval aviator Lieutenant Richard "Dick" Best and the Air Group of the carrier USS Enterprise fail to find the Japanese carrier fleet.
Admiral Yamamoto, with the support of Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, proposes an audacious plan to invade Midway Island using the four available Japanese carriers known as the "Kido Butai", but the Japanese Army overrules them. In February, the USS Enterprise launches raids against the Marshall Islands. In April, after Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, Yamamoto, Yamaguchi, and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo are permitted to carry out their plan to attack Midway.
In May, following the Battle of the Coral Sea, Layton, along with Joseph Rochefort and his cryptography team, use signals intelligence to intercept Japanese messages about an operation against an objective identified only as "AF". Layton and his team believe that "AF" is Midway Atoll, while Washington believes it to be a target in the South Pacific. Still, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, remains skeptical. To prove their theory, Layton instructs Midway to send an unencrypted message stating they are suffering from a water shortage. The Japanese pick up this signal and send an intercepted message about water shortages on "AF," confirming that "AF" is indeed Midway.
Hoping to mount his surprise attack, Nimitz orders the aircraft carriersUSS Hornet and Enterprise to be recalled from the Coral Sea and demands that the damaged USS Yorktown be repaired in 72 hours for combat operations. Halsey is placed on shore leave due to shingles and is temporarily replaced by Admiral Raymond A. Spruance.
On June 4, the Japanese launch an air attack on Midway. Initial attempts by US land-based aircraft to strike the Japanese fleet carriers fail. However, Nagumo is shaken when a crashing American bomber narrowly misses the bridge of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi in what may have been a ramming attempt. The submarine USS Nautilus tries to attack the Japanese fleet but is chased off by the Japanese destroyer Arashi. American squadrons attack the Japanese fleet without much luck, though the attacks prevent the fleet from launching their counterstrike. Upon spotting the Arashi from the air, Wade McCluskey 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 at low level due to the previous attacks, the dive bombers score several hits on the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga and Sōryū, resulting in fires and further explosions, crippling all three. The shell-shocked Nagumo is persuaded to transfer his flag. Yamaguchi, aboard the sole remaining intact carrier, Hiryu, launches a strike that succeeds in crippling Yorktown, prompting Enterprise and Hornet to launch their remaining aircraft in response. Best leads the squadron, which successfully inflicts heavy damage to the Hiryu. Admiral Yamaguchi chooses to go down with his command along with Captain Kaku, as Hiryu is scuttled.
Yamamoto orders a general withdrawal. At Pearl Harbor, Rochefort intercepts the Japanese order to withdraw and passes it to Layton, who then informs Nimitz. Best is discharged from the Navy for his lung problems, incurred due to the use of faulty breathing apparatus during the attack, and decides to return home to his wife and daughter.
On May 23, 2017, it was reported that Roland Emmerich would be directing the World WarII film Midway.[6] Due to its potential lofty budget (with estimates putting its needed cost at $125million), 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 $76million; he then got an additional $24million in equity, mostly from Chinese investors, resulting in the film's $100million 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 $100million budget ($152million by 2019 inflation), and Emmerich moved on to direct The Patriot.[7]
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
A photo from a press junket for the film
The film was released on November 8, 2019, Veterans Day weekend.[18]
Marketing
A teaser poster for the film was released on June4, 2019, which was also the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.[19] A set of 13 still photographs depicting scenes from the film was released on June26, 2019, and the first trailer for the film was released the following day (June27).[20] The second and final trailer of the film was released on September12, 2019, with the film's theatrical poster on September25.[21][22] All-in-all, Lionsgate spent around $40million promoting the film.[23]
Midway grossed $56.8million in the United States and Canada, and $70.6million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $127.4million, against a production budget of $100million.[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 $15million from 3,242 theaters in its opening weekend.[25][26] The film made $6.3million on its first day (including $925,000 from Thursday night previews). It went on to debut to $17.9million, beating box office expectations and upsetting projected winner Doctor Sleep by finishing first at the box office.[23][27][26] In its second weekend the film made $8.5million, finishing second behind newcomer Ford v Ferrari, before making $4.7million and finishing in fifth in its third weekend.[28][29]
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."[30] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[31] 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.[23]
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."[32] 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."[33] 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."[34]
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."[35]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."[36] 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."[37]
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."[38]
Several seemingly "Hollywood-ized" events depicted in the film, such as Bruno Gaido sprinting into a parked plane to shoot down a crippled plane attempting to crash into the Enterprise, then getting promoted on the spot, 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", said retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Samuel J. Cox, director of the Naval History and Heritage Command.[39]
