47
Metascore
28 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenThe Seattle TimesSoren AndersenThe effects work rivals the likes of “Saving Private Ryan” and, well, “Independence Day.” It’s spectacular and realistic-looking. That’s to be expected. What’s not expected is how serious-minded and well-acted the picture is.
- 70VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe film’s drama is B-movie basic. But the destructive colliding metal-on-metal inferno of what war is makes Midway a picture worth seeing.
- 65IGNIGNI walked out wondering how a mini-series might have better served this historic moment and the men who made it. Still, with all its gaps and flaws, Midway is a serviceable ode to servicemen this Veteran's Day weekend.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfSteel battleships and raining fire are Midway’s primary colors; the movie flaunts its hugeness at every turn. You’ll never mistake it for the real thing, but Emmerich’s eye for historical detail is scary.
- While the movie doesn’t break new ground, it’s a story pretty well told. If you’re a fan of war epics of movies about flying, you’ll find something that holds your interest.
- 59TheWrapWilliam BibbianiTheWrapWilliam BibbianiLike many of Emmerich’s movies, even the better ones, Midway loses sight of the humanity inside its vast vistas of devastation. It’s a giant film with a very small impact.
- 50The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyA stolid film that largely rests on its director’s competence at helming extravagant aerial views of pyrotechnic destruction.
- 42IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichIf the film’s story is steered by a hard-nosed focus on the large and small of what actually happened, the way Emmerich tells it feels more informed by WWII movies than it does by the war itself.
- 40The GuardianCath ClarkeThe GuardianCath ClarkeLike watching a statue for two-and-a-half hours, there’s nothing to do but sit back and yawn.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeWes Tooke offers stiff dialogue and sometimes oddly structured action, leaving much dramatic potential unexploited. Yes, Emmerich stages plenty of aerial battles in which fighter pilots plunge through hailstorms of sizzling projectiles. But those hoping to get a thrill would be better served by revisiting his Earth-vs-aliens war flick Independence Day.