Amazon.com video review:
Six months after the Japanese destroyed the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl
Harbor, the Americans discovered the Japanese were planning to seize the
Naval base at Midway Island--a perfect staging point for invading Hawaii or
the mainland. Outnumbered four to one, the Americans won a surprise
victory
and shattered the backbone of the Japanese Imperial Navy. This 1976 film
feels more like a history lesson than a drama, but World War II buffs will
appreciate the attention to historical fact (especially the way in which
fate and a few bad decisions turned the tide), as well as the generous use
of actual battle footage. The all-star cast includes Robert Mitchum,
James Coburn, and Cliff Robertson in cameos and a whole slew of familiar TV
faces in supporting roles. Hal Holbrook is fun as an oddball intelligence
officer. --Geof Miller
