Director: Jack Smight
Starring: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, James Coburn, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner, Edward Albert
Running Time: 131 minutes
Synopsis: It's 1942, and the United States Navy is weakened and reeling after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Admiral Yamamoto (Toshiro Mifune) wants to press Japan's advantage and plots an attack on the Midway Atoll in the Pacific. A cryptographic unit led by Commander Rochefort (Hal Holbrook) breaks enough of the Japanese code to allow Admiral Nimitz (Henry Fonda) to plan a high-risk ambush, committing all of the Navy's aircraft carriers. The trusted Captain Matthew Garth (Charlton Heston) is assigned to the USS Yorktown, along with his son Lieutenant Thomas Garth (Edward Albert). With both countries holding nothing back, tense surveillance maneuvers precede an epic battle, with the fate of the Pacific War at stake.
What Works Well: This is a grim-faced and square-jawed recreation of the seminal World War Two naval battle, filled with star presence and impressive hardware. The storytelling represents both sides and seeks the small details that shape history, including a broken radio preventing a crucial transmission, malfunctioning electronics resulting in lost torpedo bombs, and crucial battlefield decisions made within the fog of war and riding on gut instinct. Director Jack Smight admirably translates unfolding battle tactics into comprehensible plot points.
What Does Not Work As Well: A wedged-in romance between Lieutenant Garth and his interned Japanese-American lover is a clunky distraction. Equally clumsy is a hodgepodge of ineloquently inserted historical footage borrowed from other Hollywood productions and unrelated battles. Some stars like Robert Mitchum and particularly James Coburn lend their presence to just a few scenes before cashing their cheques.
Key Quote:
Admiral Nimitz (to Captain Garth): We can't trade them carrier for carrier, Matt.
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