Roland Emmerich brings WWII to explosive life in the second trailer for the war epic Midway. Emmerich of course knows all about action after directing the blockbuster alien invasion movie Independence Day, as well as the disaster films The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. The director has also dipped his toe in the historical drama pool, helming the Mel Gibson Revolutionary War movie The Patriot as well as the controversial Stonewall.
One topic Emmerich hadn’t yet tackled however was WWII, the most popular of all wars from a Hollywood perspective. But that’s all changing with his upcoming film Midway, an epic depiction of one of the most pivotal battles of the Pacific Theater. The movie definitely has a cast worthy of its big subject matter, with Luke Evans, Patrick Wilson, Dennis Quaid, Woody Harrelson, Ed Skrein, Nick Jonas and Aaron Eckhart all signed up to help bring the heroic Battle of Midway to life on the big screen.
The newest trailer for Midway from Lionsgate Movies definitely promises a lot of action, which should come as no surprise given Emmerich’s track record of big, explosive movies. See the trailer in the space below:
The trailer begins by establishing the stakes for Emmerich’s drama, recreating the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and showing the effect that calamitous day had on the American military. Smarting from their failure to see Pearl Harbor coming, American intelligence immediately goes to work trying to figure out the Japanese Empire’s next move. They soon realize that Midway Island, a tiny bit of land smack in the middle of the Pacific, is set to be the next target. Legendary Admiral Chester Nimitz (Harrelson) sums up what America must do next, saying “We need to throw a punch, so they know what it feels like to be hit.”
Indeed, the Battle of Midway would prove to be the big punch America needed to get back its confidence after the disaster at Pearl Harbor. Clearly, Emmerich’s take on the battle will focus largely on the action, which is exactly what is expected from the man who made a blockbuster out of an alien invasion of earth with Independence Day. It remains to be seen however if Emmerich’s movie will bring enough human dimension to rise above being another action-packed but ultimately hollow war epic along the lines of the notorious Pearl Harbor. Lionsgate is obviously hoping Midway is closer to Saving Private Ryan than Michael Bay’s much-maligned Pearl Harbor film. It will be interesting to see if audiences are in the mood for a war epic come November 8th when it releases in the US, UK and internationally, or if Midway is destined to go down in flames.
More: Woody Harrelson’s 10 Most Memorable Roles
Source: Lionsgate Movies
- Midway Release Date: 2019-11-08
