Venti Gardner

As a student in college looking to become a WWII Historian (especially on Pearl Harbor and Midway), this movie had me at the edge of my seat. The set, cast, costumes, effects and information included regarding the battle were for the most part; very accurate. I adore the dual-perspectives shown between America and Japan, and that it doesn’t just show one side of the coin. I have 2 favorite parts of the movie. One of them is the attack on Pearl Harbor. The incredible detail that the movie makers poured onto the American Battleship fleet was outstanding. The Arizona, the Oklahoma and the Maryland were ones I could immediately recognize when they were hit. The USS Maryland was the first to be hit by the Japanese, the Oklahoma was capsized and the Arizona was sunk and is now a memorial to those lost at Pearl Harbor. My other favorite part was the sinking of IJN Akagi and IJN Kaga; two of the aircraft carriers used during the Battle of Midway and two of the six carriers within the “Kido Butai”. Akagi was struck by a single dive bomb right into her flight deck which led to her demise. Kaga however, I enjoyed the execution of a lot more in the movie. The IJN Kaga was dive bombed so many times that the Japanese couldn’t keep track of how many were flying around her. She was hit 3 times by dive bombs and skinned by missed bombs. She was the only carrier that sunk on her own; she exploded, losing all her armament and sinking as a metal frame. The execution of this movie was incredible and true to the original. This movie griped me with the story of the pilots in their day-to-day lives; at home, to battle. This movie will forever have a place in my heart.