20 years ago, Roland Emmerich had the idea to put the battle in the Pacific theater on the big screen, but at that time Michael Bay's "Pearl Harbor" was in the limelight, so Emmerich continued to shoot science fiction films. I never thought that my long-cherished wish would not be fulfilled until 2019.
2001's "Pearl Harbor" can be said to be popular all over the world, it is a rare war movie that can enter the house. (The film won the 74th Academy Award for Best Sound Editing, and even the Golden Rooster Award awarded it the Best Foreign Translated Production Award.) But time has changed, and after 20 years, the grand war movie has lost its glory and cannot dominate Hollywood.
The difficulty of making a serious, entertaining, and entertaining war movie is almost as difficult as fighting a battle. From the preparatory work in the early stage, especially the restoration and textual research of history, to the layout and adaptation of the plot, the restoration of weapons and equipment, and the selection of historical characters, everything is a thorny problem.
Nowadays, the action films of special agents fighting alone (such as the Mission: Impossible series, 007 series, and The Bourne series) can not only save the tediousness and cost of historical restoration, but also exchange for more at the same or even lower cost. Box office and word of mouth, why not make profit-seeking Hollywood studios happy?
Filming the pre-World War I campaign is currently almost vetoed by Hollywood companies, because the cost is too high, and there is a possibility that the audience will be too small to recover the dismal box office and even the cost will not be recovered.
Although World War II movies have been very popular for a period of time, almost all the famous battles have been filmed in turn. Even this "Battle of Midway" also has the jewels of "Battle of Midway" in 1976. Amory Qi is equivalent to fried rice, and the biggest breakthrough is the CG special effects and explosion scenes. And Hollywood companies appreciate award-winning reflective war films like "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan."
Therefore, even Emmerich, who holds the title of Hollywood business director, can only find investment all over the world. In the end , China's Bona Films solved the urgent need for Emmerich and injected 20 million US dollars into the film. Another Chinese company, Ruyi Films , also participated; while there was no American company. Big Hollywood companies were interested in the project (Lionsgate was only responsible for the North American distribution) and it was only a lesser-known Central City-state film company that invested in the filming. The cost of this film is as high as 100 million US dollars (700 million yuan). This money is not only a blessing from Chinese capital, but also allows the film party to sell the North American distribution rights in advance.
Perhaps because of Chinese investment, the film added Doolittle's team to make a forced landing in Zhejiang, China after bombing Tokyo, and was escorted by Chinese soldiers and civilians to Chongqing safely to commemorate the sacrifices and contributions made by the Chinese people in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
From what I felt when watching the movie, it can be said that Roland Emmerich was especially well prepared. Throughout the whole film, there is a taste of old-fashioned war epic movies, but there is no shortage of scenes and scheduling. The kind of deja vu narrates the audience who are used to watching the so-called "war blockbusters" piled up by large scenes. , a feeling of reunion after a long absence.
The visual experience of "Battle of Midway" is very strong. Emmerich is a top master of special effects. The war scenes in the film are very realistic with the help of modern computer special effects, especially the shots of fighter dive bombing and shells falling from the air. But there are also comments that its special effects are similar to the game.
On November 8, 2019, the film was registered in Chinese theaters, but in the end it only earned 292 million at the box office.
Tencent News commented:
"Speaking in a small way, "Battle of Midway" is a moderate work with a well-established story and a full protagonist's halo. I dare not say that it is a "running account" type work, but after 138 minutes of watching it all the way, there is nothing particularly refreshing. The impression is that this film, which is full of all the elements of Hollywood's main theme movies, is really difficult to attract the interest of young Chinese audiences."
In fact, the dismal Midway box office has something to do with the rise of superhero movies in recent years. Commercial film directors such as Roland Emmerich, Michael Bay, and Renee Haring, who have dominated Hollywood for many years, have to look like they have no stamina under the prospect of superhero movies rising all the way.
Furthermore, China's film industry is also gradually developing. In recent years, blockbuster movies such as "Wolf Warrior 2", "I'm Not a Medicine God", "The Wandering Earth" and "Nezha" have emerged, which has made Chinese audiences less interested in Hollywood movies that have dominated the Chinese screen for more than 20 years. dependence on domestic films instead. This is actually a manifestation of our Chinese cultural self-confidence.
As an internet review states:
"With the rise of the Chinese film market and the awakening of the audience's aesthetic awareness, the blockbuster we need is no longer just a model of industrialized production on the assembly line. Hollywood wants the fat of the Chinese market, I am afraid it has to think about it. "
On November 9 last year, I watched the film in the cinema and found that there were no more than 20 people in the audience, which was very different from the usual hot scenes I imagined when Hollywood blockbusters are shown in China. in my opinion:
First, the audience is not wide. Most of the audience should be male, and most of them are military fans or history buffs.
Second, there was not enough publicity in the early stage, and the timing of the release was inappropriate.
The timing of the film's release was inappropriate. For a war film like "Battle of Midway" shot from an American point of view, in order to gain the recognition of the global audience, it needs to choose a suitable time to be released, such as "Anti-Fascist War Remembrance Day" and the like. In the current international environment, it is difficult for ordinary audiences to have the desire to enter the cinema.
Third, there are no big-name stars involved. Even a group of new-generation actors with good looks and excellent acting skills and superb old dramas have gone abroad, but there are not many names that can be called by Chinese audiences. The one we are most familiar with is probably Woody, who plays Admiral Nimitz. Harrison. Only relying on Emmerich's status as "the director of tens of billions of science fiction movies" cannot support this movie, and Emmerich has also shown a declining box office appeal in recent years.
Fourth, of course, is the problem of the film itself.
Another comment said:
Under the visual bombardment of Marvel movies over the years, audiences have long been accustomed to those bizarre "cosmic wars", such as the "Captain America" series and DC Comics' "Wonder Woman". The characterization of the game sense has made the audience's visual nerves numb. After all, for ordinary American audiences who lack historical knowledge, World War II is a long time ago, and their sense of identification with "American Sniper" is far greater than that of war history blockbusters like "Battle of Midway". Not to mention the new generation of Chinese audiences who are the main body of movie watching.
Another important point is that movies like "Pearl Harbor" and "Battle of Midway" are actually more suitable for shooting in the mood just after the war. But over time, reflection on war can take over, and Hollywood's award-winning war movies have taken that route. Whether it's "Dunkirk" or "Saving Private Ryan," there are similar themes. In contrast, there are not many reflections on the war in "Battle of Midway", and some of them are just passing by. It is essentially a commercial film that wants to make money.
It is such a slightly regrettable war film that I have a lot of aftertastes. Probably the best war movie of the next five years.
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