29 March, 2010

The Pacific

Well so far the HBO miniseries The Pacific has been a real disappointment to me. In comparison to the epic Band of Brothers, this series has yet to really draw me in, and feel a part of the men who fought in the pacific theater.

My first and biggest complaint, is that unlike the Band of Brothers, we didn't get to see any character development or even training. I am having a lot of trouble figuring out who the characters are. The only character I know for sure, is Chesty Puller, and the only reason I know him is because I have seen him in other movies.

Episode 3 was a joke to me. There was absolutely no fighting, and to me, it was much like watching a soap opera. I don't understand the point of this episode save for the fact that it shows how the Marines were during down time. Perhaps the most poignant scene was when Staff Sergeant Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor.

I know this series is based on a couple of books, as was the Band of Brothers. Full disclosure, I have not read either of the books (With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge and Helmet For My Pillow by Robert Leckie) so I'm not sure how they are written ergo I don't have any way to compare the books to movie. I did however read Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose (who was an Executive Producer of the mini-series) and the Band of Brothers mini-series pretty much followed the outline of the book.

I hope the series get's better, because for this WWII buff, all of the hype of the program has been a bust to me. The previews for next week look better. I want to see some combat and how it really was for the Marines, soldiers and sailors in the pacific theater. The fighting was brutal and up close. It shouldn't be dumbed down for political correctness sake. The story needs to be told how it was, lest we forget why we fought.

--gfo

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