In Harm's Way
| Video Review
|
 |
| Title: |
In Harm's Way |
| Publisher: |
Paramount Pictures
|
| Format:
|
DVD |
| Rated:
|
NR |
| Reviewed By: |
Frank Fogg |
| Review Date: |
January, 2004 |
| Rating: |
1/2
|
In Harm's Way is a semi-fictional account
of the naval battle in the Pacific during the Second World War. Starring a number
of big names including John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Kirk Douglas, it springboards
from great performances by the actors and actresses into weaving a tale that
sucks the characters into the horror of war.
Starting
at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, the story follows the career of Captain
Torrey (played by John Wayne) as he first loses his command of a heavy cruiser,
then is promoted to Admiral with the duty of coordinating invasion and naval
support operations. The people around him all play critical roles in the story
as he finds the love he has never had during his career (a nurse played by Patricia
McNeal) and the son he left behind years ago as a child.
The action scenes in this movie are interesting to watch, as they are a combination
of actual footage and special effect models. Most of the scenes are realistic,
but in a few parts it is obvious that special effects in 1965 were not what
they are today. A few parts that were probably a little "racy" by
the standards of the day would be considered tame after watching even one afternoon
talk show today.
In Harm's Way is an extremely long movie at over 2-1/2 hours in length. Some
parts are long and plodding, but several surprise twists and turns in the plot
almost make up for them. From an authenticity viewpoint, the movie almost entirely
ignores the major impact of naval airpower on the outcome of the conflict, instead
focusing on the more traditional surface combatants, destroyers, cruisers and
battleships.
While this movie seems to want to please everybody , at times it is still downright
dull. Great acting picks up some of scenes and the twisting plot also helps
to relieve the monotony, but it is still hard to sit through so much dialog
in between limited combat footage. War movie fans will still enjoy watching
the ships shooting at each other, and these scenes are interesting even if at
times technically inferior by modern standards.
