TrueJoshNight
Truly Dreadful Film
SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
Pluskylang
Great Film overall
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Ian
(Flash Review)While changing tact a little, The Pacific is impossible not to compare to Band of Brothers as it focuses more on the psychology of war rather than a deep immersion of characters. That change of tact made it hard for me to get as emotionally invested in the series. The characters were also flawed and occasionally unlikable, thus it took a while to emotionally connect with them if at all. The battles in the first few episodes occasionally felt repetitive and generic. Only toward the second half did character story lines develop as well as the amount of blood and gore; to the point of being unnecessary...and I've seen a large swath of war films. Aside from the stellar production quality, the most intriguing part were for the soldiers that survive long enough allow you to see their mental transitions through many battles. Fear to shock to horror to acceptance to recalibrating their own life's morality levels of humanity. A Thin Red Line is a similar comparison as it also focused on the mental aspects of being in war. Overall, this was very good and intense but lacked character emotional depth. Oh and I wish they gave specific titles to reach episode.
gogoschka-1
I'm guessing most of us watched 'The Pacific' for at least one of the following 3 reasons:1. We have an interest in history, particularly in WW2.2. We are fans of movies and television shows (well, the good ones anyway)3. We had seen - and loved - the previous Hanks/Spielberg co-production 'Band Of Brothers' and expected a mini-series on the same level.Now from reading some of the reviews here I gather that third reason was the most important one for many viewers - and it's also why 'The Pacific' apparently left quite a few people disappointed. As for me, I wasn't disappointed - I was devastated.I'm a lucky man; I've never had to suffer through a war. But I had relatives who did, and though they're all long gone now, I'll never forget their stories. War is the most extreme and outrageous experience humans can possibly endure, but there are many different aspects and layers to it, because a war is not a single experience: it's all the experiences of all the individuals who have to suffer through it, and no single film or TV show can cover all of them. 'Band Of Brothers' focused on certain aspects of a war, and it chose a narrative that helped emphasize what the core theme of the series was: the brotherhood of war. It was about people who retain their humanity and form the closest of bonds under the worst, most horrific circumstances.That inherently human element in 'BoB' was also why we could identify so well with the protagonists, and why we were - and still are - so deeply touched by what they had to go through. It's an outstandingly well made series, and I can't imagine how those experiences by those soldiers could have been portrayed better. Which is why 'The Pacific' doesn't even try. Instead, it goes almost in the opposite direction by choosing to focus on the sheer insanity of war: the relentless horror and despair of people losing their humanity and their struggle to regain it. Of course, just like 'BoB' it's also about the heroic sacrifices of those brave soldiers, but if there is a core theme in 'The Pacific' it's that of trauma: the trauma of having your humanity stripped from you and your personality shattered; the trauma of witnessing the complete disintegration of everything you thought you were and knowing you'll never be whole again.What we see in 'The Pacific' is Hell, plain and simple. It's scores and scores of anonymous, young Japanese soldiers running senselessly into machine gun fire, wave after wave, until the piles of their bodies are so high they block the sight for the machine gun; it's American soldiers barely older than kids in despair or completely numb from the sheer amount of random death around them; it's vibrant young men turning into barely alive husks whose only remaining focus is to survive - which means they have to kill other barely alive young men who will stop at nothing to kill them in turn; it's kids killing other kids like rats by any means at their disposal: guns, knives, flame-throwers or with their bare hands; it's people living among the rotting corpses of their dead comrades and enemies and completely losing any regard for human life. And the few moments where we witness how those kids get a brief taste of how precious and beautiful life could be make their fate all the more heartbreaking.Over large stretches, 'The Pacific' is devastating and depressing to watch, and though I found it never less than compelling, it's actually easy to see why many viewers who had hoped for a similarly engaging experience as in 'BoB' were left disappointed. But this is a different story about different people who fought in a different theater of the war and who went through different experiences, and once you stop comparing it to the story of the men in Easy Company from 'BoB', you'll find that, while different, in terms of sheer quality 'The Pacific' is every bit as good and as much of an outstanding achievement as its more popular predecessor.The realism, the performances, the music and the production values in the series are superb (this was a 200 million production after all), and the attention to historic detail is simply staggering. As for me, witnessing what these men went through left me devastated; yet I am grateful I've watched 'The Pacifc': because in its relentless depiction of the horrors of war it honors the sacrifice these brave young soldiers made in the hope future generations wouldn't have to do the same. I originally rated this series 9 stars out of 10, but upon a recent rewatch and with more knowledge of the war in the Pacific theater, it's clear that this is a 10/10. Outstanding.Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: imdb.com/list/ls075552387/
jlohman20
Please, for the love of God, please do not overlook this miniseries. I have seen way too many people who don't bother to see The Pacific because it wasn't like Band of Brothers. This was in no way, shape, or form meant to be like BoB. If you have studied WW2 at all, you would know that the war in the Pacific was a totally different war than the European theater. I loved Band of Brothers, it was a great and realistic series of the harsh realities of warfare and the scars it can leave. The Pacific was much harder to watch than BoB ever was. BoB was all about the bonds formed in combat and how this can tear people apart. This grim series displayed how completely unprepared the US military was mentally for how truly horrific this war would be. Not only were you fighting the unpredictable and relentless Japanese soldiers, but you were also fighting the terrain. The dense woods, the heavy rain, the thick mud. Not to mention all the diseases that came with these harsh conditions. Water was a luxury in a lot of situations. The filmmakers brilliantly showed how this affected the fighting men, who became virtually hollow shells, their sanity teetering on the edge of their knives. The Japanese killed everyone without remorse. One particular scene that gave me chills to witness was in the latter half of the series when a group of civilians was slaughtered by a Japanese machine gun nest while running to the American forces. One person, a child, started to crawl slowly to the lines, a couple bullet wounds on his body. One of the combat rookies wanted to run in to help the poor boy, but was kept back so they would not be shoot too. All the Marines could do was watch, as the helpless child was brutally killed after a bullet from that machine gun emplacement hit him in the back of the head and his body went limp instantaneously. This is on par with Saving Private Ryan, another collaboration between Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, as one of the most horrific, gruesome, and realistic war dramas ever put to film. I highly recommend giving it a watch, but be warned: this series is not for the faint of heart.
feakes
The Pacific does for the War in the Pacific theater. What Band of Brothers did for the European theater. It makes it more realistic. More understanding. and That's not an easy feat to do. As with Band of Brothers there is a large cast here . But the main focus is on only a few soldiers . Not surprising as the source matériel is taken Robert Leckie's Helmet for my Pillow and Eugene Sledge's In with the old Breed. Both books present a often shocking and brutal picture of the war. The Main focus is PFC Robert Leckie. PFC Eugene Sledge. And Gunny Sgt. Medal of honor Winner John Basilone. And the others caught in their orbit.Leckie's story is simply the story of a every man caught up in forces he can't control. the Horror and mind breaking conditions he faces as the war progresses almost kills him several times and yet he persists.Eugene sledge is the innocent young man 18 years old who wants to fight who wants to defend his country. And loses his innocence in the process. Sledge's story is the most emotional harrowing one here. Watching his story and the horrors he saw. Makes you wonder how he maintained his sanity. Sledge's friend Snafu is also a joy to watch as he helps Sledge maintain something of normality. In one scene when the new guys show up and snafu asks questions of them like their name sledge replies with a What Now you want to know their names . A common enough thing to happen during th war in which the seasoned vets did'not want to know the names of the new guys because they did not want to mourn them later on. The LAst main focus is Sgt. John Basilone a Marine who wins the medal of honor winner who wins it on Guladcanel after holding off a force of three thousand Japanese soldiers for three days . That story is vividly brought to life as well as his struggles in being a hero doing a War bond drive. and eventually returning to duty on Iwo Jima .The Pacific isn't perfect by any means . but in telling the story of the war. Its as good as it ever gets .