THE PACIFIC: Television Miniseries (Released on Television USA 2010)

 

Ben Meyers Summary for this Television Mini-Series Rating 4.1|5.0 Starsìììì Summary of The Pacific: Television Mini-Series The Pacific: Television Mini-Series—is a good to suitable series and tells about the war in the Islands against the Japanese in 10 episodes. This mini-series has very good cinematography and an okay storyline. The acting is good/okay but is not very believable at times. The Pacific TV Mini-Series is hard to follow from time to time due to atrocious character development. Some characters can be known from earlier or later movies and TV shows, but their character names are forgettable. Most of the faces of the other characters are forgettable mostly because they are not famous enough or they are just starting out. The series does not help the viewer feel patriotic as the series should have done. One may feel empty or left out of what is going on and wonder why this series is presented. The end of the series episode called Home helps the viewer to connect the dots of the important players of this series. But one has to watch the whole 10 episodes to get a glimpse of what is going on in the Home episode. Despite all of that, it is still worth watching to some extent to see what the scenery is, and to know that this or that happened to someone/somebody, and that explosion happened with the graphic results shown. That is probably the most one will get out of this series. Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images  Storyline This 10-episode series is about how the American military fought the Japanese military during WWII. Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. Even though one will not get a lot out of this series, it is 'cool' to watch overall and interesting to see. Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers EPISODE 1: GUADALCANAL/LECKIE Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì Guadalcanal/Leckie starts The Pacific series. It starts fairly well. The presentation is good and the portrayal is good. The acting could be more realistic in some places. The story is well written and very intriguing. Hopefully, the second episode, Basilone, will hold similar to better quality.  Storyline  Robert Leckie, a newspaper writer, joins the military during WWII. John Basilone, a sergeant in the military, is sent to war in the Islands to fight the Japanese. Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director and Supervising Producer Timothy Van Patten for directing and producing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making the film possible.  Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Jon Bernthal, Joshua Bitton, Tom Budge, Linda Cropper, Caroline Dhavernas, Josh Helman, Ashton Holmes, Toby Leonard Moore, Henry Nixon, Keith Nobbs, and Conor O’Farrell.

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? Yes. Guadalcanal/Leckie start out as a good episode. It has a good storyline that is worth watching. It will be interesting to see what the rest of the series has in store for its viewers.

Ben Meyers

EPISODE 2: BASILONE

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.1|5.0 Starsìììì   Basilone—has more storyline to work with and is slightly better in both presentation and action. The acting is about the same. It has more watch-ableness than the last episode. The character development is slim to none.  Storyline  Sergeant John Basilone and others fight valiantly against formidable odds.  Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director David Nutter for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg.  Cast includes, James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Jon Bernthal, Joshua Bitton, Tom Budge, Josh Helman, Ashton Holmes, Ian Meadows, Henry Nixon, Keith Nobbs, Conor O’Farrell, Jacob Pitts, and William Sadler.

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. The episode is better than the last episode and revealing more of the storyline. One wants to see more, even though the character development is little to none. Basilone is an interesting watch.

Ben Meyers

EPISODE 3: MELBOURNE

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.8|5.0 Starsììì   Melbourne—does not have a lot of storyline. But the Melbourne episode is interesting overall. The acting is good, and the presentation is really good. The storyline is well written. It has some sex/nudity. But, besides that, Melbourne is a good episode. It is interesting that the Americans soldiers dock their ship in Melbourne, Australia after fighting in Guadalcanal during WW II. There is a cliffhanger at the end of this episode that leads the viewer into a desire to see the following episode.   Storyline  American soldiers take a break from war and travel to Melbourne, Australia. Additional Thanks  Thank you to Director Jeremy Podeswa for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making this episode possible.  Cast includes, James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Joshua Bitton, Tom Budge, Josh Helman, Ashton Holmes, Toby Leonard Moore, Henry Nixon, Keith Nobbs, Jacob Pitts, William Sadler, Zoe Carides,  andNick Farnell.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? Maybe. Melbourne is an okay watch that has really good presentation and portrayal. Ben Meyers EPISODE 4: GLOUCESTER/PAVUVU/BANIKA Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.3|5.0 Starsìììì  Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika—good episode—expands on events in the Islands. Great acting marks this episode. It has good presentation and portrayal.  Storyline  Leckie and his team are assigned to Cape Gloucester to fight Japanese.  Additional Thanks  Thank you to Director and Co-Executive Producer Graham Yost for his directing and producing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making this episode possible. Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Tom Budge, Nate Corddry, Matt Craven, Josh Helman, Ashton Holmes, Toby Leonard Moore, Keith Nobbs, Jacob Pitts, Craig Ball, Simon Bossell, and Laurence Breuls.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. This episode moves the series forward. Great work for all involved in producing this episode.   Ben Meyers EPISODE 5: PELELIU LANDING Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì Peleliu Landing—continues to lack good character development so that characters can be easily distinguished. The story is suitably written and is a good watch due to presentation and portrayal. Know it contains some sex scenes, but besides that, it is a good watch. Storyline Sergeant John Basilone is sent to the USA to market War Bonds. Robert Leckie is reunited with his team and Sledge joins the military.  Additional Thanks   Thank you to Director Carl Franklin for his directing effort. Thank you Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for their producing efforts. Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Brendan Fletcher, Leon Ford, Scott Gibson, Josh Helman, Ashton Holmes, Rami Malek, Martin McCann, Keith Nobbs, Jacob Pitts, Gary Sweet, and Anna Torv.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. It is a good watch for the most part and tells a suitable story. Ben Meyers EPISODE 6: PELELIU AIRFIELD Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.2|5.0 Starsìììì  Peleliu Airfield—enlarges on WWII events in the Pacific Islands. The lack of  character  development continues. Leckie (James Badge Dale) is becoming easier to spot but can get lost in the flurry of events. Rami Malek is the only character that stands out because his facial features are easily recognizable and the writers early on distinguished him by certain habits he entertains on the battle field. The best part of this episode are the special effects of explosions which are pretty good. The acting,  presentation, and portrayal are good.  Storyline  The American soldiers in the Peleliu Airfield, despite their extreme need for water and high environmental heat, fight. Robert Leckie gets injured and is sent away to recover from his injuries.  Additional Thanks   Thank you to Director and Co-Executive Producer Tony To for his directing and producing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making the series possible. Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Linda Cropper, Brendan Fletcher, Leon Ford, Scott Gibson, Ashton Holmes, Rami Malek, Martin McCann, Toby Leonard Moore, Keith Nobbs, Coner O’Farrell, and Gary Sweet.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. The presentation is good but lacks continuity between the previous episode and this one. There needs to be an overhaul in the writing to establish connectivity to the other episodes.  Ben Meyers EPISODE 7: PELELIU HILLS Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.2|5.0 Starsìììì Peleliu Hills—improves the episodes by increasing impact. The character development is still not present but the character Eugene Sledge is becoming more recognizable. Viewers can use IMDb to find the actor's name: Merriell ‘Snafu’ Shelton. An IMDb check on Haney shows Gary Sweet as the actor who plays this character. The special effects and the tension increase in this episode. The locations (other than Peleliu) are not well defined.  Storyline  American soldiers fight in the Peleliu Hills.  Additional Thanks   Thank you to Director and Supervising Producer Timothy Van Patten for his directing and producing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making this episode possible. Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Brendan Fletcher, Leon Ford, Scott Gibson, Josh Helman, Rami Malek, Martin McCann, William Sadler, Gary Sweet, Dylan Young, Sean Bunch, and Alex Gowdie. Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? Yes. It is an overall good watch and one is getting a feel for sequence of events that eventually lead to the end of WWII.   Ben Meyers EPISODE 8: IWO JIMA Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì Iwo Jima—very good writing—has the audience giving up the need for  character development due to a realization it is not going to happen in this season's episodes. Character John Basilone gets an award which finally distinguishes him and he is chosen to sell war bonds but he signs up to train new recruits. There is some nudity in this episode. But, besides that, the presentation  and story are great. The special effects at the end of the show are quite spectacular.  Storyline Upset with selling war bonds for the military, John Basilone signs up to train new recruits.  Additional Thanks   Thank you to Director David Nutter and Jeremy Podeswe for their directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making this episode possible. Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Dwight Braswell, Rami Malek, Martin McCann, Annie Parisse, Dylan Young, Ian Bliss, Ben Esler, Lelia Goldoni, Les Hill, Stephen Leeder, and Luigi Lucente.   Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. This is a good show overall and enlarges on Basilone's character. He is known as one of the best soldier marksman in WWII.   Ben Meyers Episode 9: Okinawa Okinawa—well written, very good acting—has great presentation and portrayal The troops are in Okinawa and concluding final island battles of WWII. Great writing.  Storyline  The American soldiers are in Okinawa in the final WWII battles of the Islands.  Additional Thanks   Thank you to Director and Supervising Producer Timothy Van Patten for his directing and producing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making this episode available. Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Noel Fisher, Brendan Fletcher, Rami Malek, Martin McCann, Nicholas Cooper,  Freddie Joe Farnsworth, Chris Foy, Sam North, Tiger Saito, Kaoru Saito, and Geordie Taylor.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. This episode has good cinematography. Thank you to all involved in production.   Ben Meyers Episode 10: Home Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.3|5.0 Starsìììì  Home ends the episodes well with a presentation of the history of the people involved in this war effort, their lives and future accomplishments, and how they lived after the war. Storyline  The war is over and a little history of immediate events after the war and a small presentation of the lives of those who came home until their old age mark this last episode.  Additional Thanks   Thank you to Director Jeremy Podeswa for his directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg for making this episode available. Cast includes James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Betty Buckley, Joshua Close, Linda Cropper, Caroline Dhavernas, Ashton Holmes, Brandon Keener, Rami Malek, Martin McCann, Conor O’Ferrall, Annie Parisse, and Frank Aldridge.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. Thank you to all involved  in production. This episode provides a satisfying conclusion to the series with its listing of how the people portrayed in this series lived their lives after WWII, their accomplishments, and life choices.