New Battle of Midway film

[Saville]

old iron wrote:
The last image is of a whole bunch of Dauntlesses diving on a Japanese carrier at the same time. This will be "based" on an historical event, at best.

Who will play Dick Best?


I wonder if they will accurately describe the McCluskey/Best mix-up in their attack

Not likely, in my opinion. The question in my mind is whether they will give Best a speaking part at all.

Best is the true hero of Midway; the man who made the command decision to not proceed with the current bombing in progress and hunt for other game - and bag it. He is the pilot on the scene who brought Victory to the US. Without that decision, there would have been two Japanese carriers - and a commander on his flagship - to attach the three American carriers. The result would likely have been much more damage to the American carriers and perhaps a good chance that the Japanese would lose the Kaga and Soryu.

That would be something of a tactical tie rather than a strategic defeat. The Japanese may even have gone ahead and stormed the Midway beaches, though it is less likely that they would have physically occupied the Islands.

Don't minimize what McCluskey did. He is truly a major hero of Midway as it was he who found the carriers - Best did not. AND McCluskey's section sank one.

The only negative was that McCluskey then did not allocate planes to the attack in the standard doctrinal way. Best did recognize the error and adjusted accordingly. And so Best attacked with 3 planes and it was Best himself who planted the bomb on the next carrier.

[old iron]

Don't minimize what McCluskey did. He is truly a major hero of Midway as it was he who found the carriers - Best did not. AND McCluskey's section sank one.

I don't want to minimize McCluskey, but don't want to maximize him either. He did find the southern carriers, but mismanaged the atttack. He basically took two dive-bomber units to sink one carrier. The Yorktown dive-bombers sunk a second. Best and his two wingmen sank the third carrier under their own initiative.

My worry on watching the movie preview is that we are going to have the whole war up to the Battle of Midway, that is Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle raid, the New Ireland raid (I assume the scene of the crashing twin-engine Japanese aircraft come fromt he O'Hare combat and gosh-knows what else, which will provide inadequate time for a serious development of the Midway battle. McCluskey gets his piece of the plot, but without Best.

[Saville]

Don't minimize what McCluskey did. He is truly a major hero of Midway as it was he who found the carriers - Best did not. AND McCluskey's section sank one.

I don't want to minimize McCluskey, but don't want to maximize him either. He did find the southern carriers, but mismanaged the atttack. He basically took two dive-bomber units to sink one carrier. The Yorktown dive-bombers sunk a second. Best and his two wingmen sank the third carrier under their own initiative.

My worry on watching the movie preview is that we are going to have the whole war up to the Battle of Midway, that is Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle raid, the New Ireland raid (I assume the scene of the crashing twin-engine Japanese aircraft come fromt he O'Hare combat and gosh-knows what else, which will provide inadequate time for a serious development of the Midway battle. McCluskey gets his piece of the plot, but without Best.

I'm with you on the concern that the movie starts with Pearl Harbor. Either will make for a long movie or Pearl Harbor, Doolittle and Coral Sea will get quick treatments rendering them superfluous.

If it wasn't for McCluskey, Best would not have found any carriers:

Best was part of Bombing 6

McCluskey was Scouting 6

On this mission, VS and VB flew together. Best and 2 other VB 6 pulled out of the dive that McCluskey started with BOTH squadrons.

Best put the bomb that did in Akagi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9rkKtK1b44

McCluskey made excellent decision to put the two squadrons in the vicinity of the two carriers.

McCluskey failed to set up an attack according to doctrine.

Best corrected that with a brilliant tactical decision to break off.

Both won well deserved Navy Crosses.

[Russ Matthews]

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.

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.

Last edited by Russ Matthews on Mon May 04, 2020 8:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Saville]

Well I notice that they have someone playing "John Ford". So they may even get into the details that Ford was on Midway during the attack and filmed it. Whether that level of detail is good or bad depends upon how many screen minutes that actor gets.

Anne Best is a character so I surmise that may be the "love story" associated with the movie.

I have to say that I find the emphasis I'm seeing on Dick Best quite interesting. Most of Hollywood doesn't know he existed.

[Kyleb]

Oh boy...

The SBD continuing its 30* dive below the deck level of the Japanese carrier and making a successful recovery was a bit much for me.

And 10 SBD's attacking in a wave wasn't exactly accurate either.

And then, there was the dialogue.

Oh well...

[Joe Scheil]

I will watch the old one...this one’s trailer was terrible.

[michaelharadon]

Just saw the trailer. I think I'll stay home and re read Incredible Victory.

[Chris Brame]

I'll check out the new one if they bring back Sensurround.

[Saville]

Oh boy...

The SBD continuing its 30* dive below the deck level of the Japanese carrier and making a successful recovery was a bit much for me.
.

This is the classic mistake the CGI users make and, for me, it totally destroys any interest in seeing the movie. Maneuvers that defy the laws of physics, hordes of airplanes in a small airspace......

It seems as if they figure they MUST have these incredible maneuvers in order to excite the audiences.

The sad part is...they may be right.

[Adam Kline]

The screen is only so big. They need to cram as much stuff as they can into it. LOL.