old iron wrote:
The question in my mind is whether they will give Best a speaking part at all.
No question about it. Dick Best (as portrayed by actor Ed Skrein) is the very first person glimpsed in the trailer. His words comprise a good half of the narration and carry nearly all the emotional weight. That, combined with Skrein's top billing in the cast list makes me believe that Dick Best is in fact the primary lead character in the film.
Saville wrote:
I wonder if they will accurately describe the McCluskey/Best mix-up in their attack
My guess? And it's only a guess, of course .. is
yes .. though probably not to anyone's detriment. If anything, it is the natural conclusion to the hero's journey as Best faces the ultimate challenge, using quick thinking, skilled airmanship and supreme courage to avert disaster and strike a decisive blow against the enemy. A Hollywood screenwriter couldn't have plotted it any more perfectly .. and he didn't have to since that is exactly what happened.
I think the "whole bunch of Dauntlesses diving on a Japanese carrier" represents McClusky's attack on
Kaga with Scouting Six and (the bulk of) Bombing Six.
The previous trailer featured a different shot of just three SBDs plunging toward an undamaged flat top [
https://youtu.be/Z_7eN5iloyk?t=99] which may very well be Kroeger, Weber, and Best taking on
Akagi.
And while the new trailer makes the sequence appear totally cohesive, I'm convinced the final two shots in which a lone Dauntless pulls out at wave top level while a Japanese carrier suddenly erupts in a spectacular fireball [
https://youtu.be/RWar5xfq5Mw?t=141] are actually lifted from the end of Best's miraculous bombing run.
I guess we'll find out in November.