AWESOME
ACTION
When it comes to spectacle, Midway director
Roland Emmerich is among the best in the
business. His 1996 sci-fi classic Independence
Day marked a quantum leap forward for
special effects and, in the years since, he’s
continued to raise the bar with films such
as 2012 and Godzilla. Midway is his most
jaw-dropping movie yet. Based on the game-
changing WW2 battle (more on this below), the
fighting is so real you’ll be ducking for cover.
A TRUE STORY
PLENTY OF HEART
If you’ve ever seen a Roland Emmerich film, you’ll
know that connecting with audiences emotionally
is as important to him as wowing them
visually. With its lengthy running
time, Midway develops each one
of its main characters, which
means that when disaster
strikes or hearts break,
they’re not just collateral
damage. You really feel
their loss/suffering.
STARS
GALORE
For the war blockbuster of the year,
Emmerich has recruited the cast
of the year. Playing Lieutenant
Commander Wade McClusky is Luke
Evans (Fast & Furious 6), Aaron
Eckhart (The Dark Knight) is
Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle,
while Nick Jonas (Jumanji: Welcome
to the Jungle) is Aviation Machinist
Mate Bruno Gaido. And that’s just for
starters. Three-time Oscar nominee
Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards
Outside Ebbing, Missouri) is Admiral
Chester Nimitz, while Dennis Quaid,
star of Emmerich’s global-warming
gobsmacker The Day After Tomorrow,
plays Vice Admiral William ‘Bull’
Halsey. Talk about ‘stars’ and stripes!
Midway explodes into cinemas on Friday 8 November
ODEON.co.uk 27
The Battle of Midway marked a turning point in
the Second World War. It came six months after
the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
which killed 2,403 Americans. Having discovered
that Japan was planning a second ambush, with
the aim of destroying the United States’ few
remaining aircraft carriers, the US struck first,
leading to what military historian John Keegan
called “the most stunning and decisive blow in
the history of naval warfare”. Knowing that what
you’re seeing on screen really happened makes
the astonishing Midway all the more powerful.