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Given it was such a large-scale and all-encompassing conflict, it’s not too surprising that there are so many World War II movies out there. Some really do rank among the greatest war films of all time, and then a few are even great enough to be considered all-timers within cinema history overall (of any genre). Casablanca is probably the best one that was made while World War II was still being fought, even if it’s a bit more of a romantic drama than it is a conventional war movie. But it shows that great movies about the Second World War can be found as far back as the time that the war was still going, with subsequent decades proving even more fruitful, thanks to the likes of classics like The Human Condition, Saving Private Ryan, Come and See, and Grave of the Fireflies, among (many, many) others.
The good World War II movies, you can find those somewhere else. Below are three of the worst ever made, with two picks here being uncontroversial (well, hopefully), and maybe the other pick being a little spicy, as far as takes go. These movies don’t really do the true stories they tell justice, and in the instance where a real-life event is tackled, but the characters are fictional, then the real-life events aren’t really done justice, either. The films aren’t good. And the films here do have some basis in reality, being historical in nature or inspired by actual events. That means the 1990 Captain America (as in the one made before the Marvel Cinematic Universe; no Chris Evans here) and the third BloodRayne won’t show up here. Neither film is good, though they do both feature World War II, technically, but the focus here is going to be on lackluster and somewhat realistic (or at least grounded in history) movies about the Second World War.
'USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage' (2016)
If you’ve never seen USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, then lucky you, but also, if you haven’t seen it, there remains a good chance you know about the event that it dramatizes/depicts. It’s about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, and focuses on how those who survived the initial sinking had to deal with various other threats while awaiting rescue, including shark attacks. The shark attacks were relevant when it comes to Jaws, because Quint is a character who was on board the USS Indianapolis, and he recounts his experiences during one very memorable (and understandably iconic) monologue. It’s a better and more emotionally intense scene with just those words than seeing a more vivid portrait of the event on screen, in USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, ends up being.
It shouldn’t be a schlocky horror movie of sorts, but it is, and it fails as a shark movie in much the same way that it fails as a World War II film.
This is not one of the very worst Nicolas Cage movies, but it’s still very bad, and a far cry from the sorts of genuinely high-quality movies he’s also been in, throughout a very up-and-down acting career. You look at the title containing the words “Men of Courage,” and get the sense this film’s supposed to be a tribute, but it makes the fight for survival look kind of goofy, and that ends up making USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage feel anything but sincere or solemn. It shouldn’t be a schlocky horror movie of sorts, but it is, and it fails as a shark movie in much the same way that it fails as a World War II film. Like with basically all the war movies that don’t work, but were based on actual events, those wrapped up in such history deserved better.
'Midway' (1976)
This is going to be the most controversial pick here. Sorry, Midway. Midway looks good on paper. That’s why it’s so surprising when, in execution, it’s pretty miserable and honestly shocking in just how boring it gets. Oh, and it’s weirdly amateurish, for such a big movie with so many notable actors popping up. It tries to do what Tora! Tora! Tora! did by having both American and Japanese actors playing both sides of the conflict, though it falls short of Tora! Tora! Tora! in other ways (it does not do for the Battle of Midway what that other World War II epic did for the Attack on Pearl Harbor). The cast here is even stronger, sure, but it feels like all the money the movie had went toward paying salaries for some very expensive actors. Though if you have a real itch to see Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Toshirō Mifune, Cliff Robertson, Hal Holbrook, Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, Pat Morita, Erik Estrada, and Tom Selleck – among others – all in the same movie… well, then Midway technically has your back.
No one seems particularly thrilled to be there, though, nor very dedicated to the film itself. The older stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood sleepwalk their way through Midway, and the younger actors don’t fare a whole lot better, nor seem much more enthused. It’s 132 minutes long, and feels at least an hour longer. An event as important as the Battle of Midway deserved better, and it really has to be stressed just how cheap the whole movie feels. You're definitely better off watching Tora! Tora! Tora!, since there is genuine spectacle and intensity there, and then other star-studded World War II epics like The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far are also so much more interesting than this one. There isn't really any sense of actual production value here, outside the prestige of some famous actors, and it’s honestly a bit embarrassing the extent to which Midway just repurposes footage from other war movies for its battle sequences. Also embarrassing is the fact that Midway was such a massive success, as those wanting to see a film recreate the battle in question deserved better (as did the memory of the people involved in that battle). If your dad or grandfather really likes this one, sorry to your dad or grandfather. And if you yourself are a dad or grandfather who likes this movie, for whatever reason, apologies to you, too.
'Pearl Harbor' (2001)
The best thing Pearl Harbor contributed to the world, or at least pop culture, was inspiring lyrics in the song “The End of an Act” in Team America: World Police. It kicks off with the line: “I miss you more than Michael Bay missed the mark when he made Pearl Harbor.” And, like, yes. The final line, “I guess Pearl Harbor sucked just a little bit more than I miss you,” is also beautiful. Marks were missed, actors were wasted, and Pearl Harbor (outside the Team America influence) may have something to offer in one sequence: the Attack on Pearl Harbor itself. There is a level of spectacle there, and it’s the sort of thing Michael Bay has proven himself able to direct. Still, for it to happen within a movie that’s largely a romantic melodrama feels a bit odd, and it also clashes with what Pearl Harbor was going for tonally in its first half. Things don’t even conclude with the attack itself, because Pearl Harbor has what feels like a fourth act that drags things out further, and ultimately feels like such an anti-climax when it does eventually (and mercifully) stop.
It’s not a new criticism to say Pearl Harbor was trying too hard to be Titanic, but with the Attack on Pearl Harbor as its main set piece instead of the sinking of the Titanic, but that very old criticism is undeniably right on the money. This feels like a messy disaster movie (of sorts) about a significant (and tragic) event, all with a love story tacked on so that it'll appeal to people who might not ordinarily check out a movie that’s entirely a disaster or war film. If it came out today, people would say, “The writers just told ChatGPT to make them something like Titanic, but with Pearl Harbor instead,” and that would also feel accurate. The humor clashes with the romance, the romance clashes with the action, and the action clashes with the parts that are supposed to be intense and heartbreaking. Nothing works, everything trips over everything else, the casting is baffling (Jon Voight, Dan Aykroyd, and Alec Baldwin feel so out of place… and they're being called out because Ben Affleck has already been dragged over enough coal for his performance here). This movie’s flat-out terrible, and pretty much as bad as everyone says it is. Plenty of other movies from 20+ years ago have been critically re-evaluated (oh, hey, Freddy Got Fingered and Southland Tales), but such re-evaluation feels unlikely to ever happen for Pearl Harbor.
