THE PACIFIC [2010]

"There are things men can do to one another

that are sobering to the soul.

It is one thing to reconcile these things with God,

but another to square it with yourself."

Nearly 10 years after the hugely successful 10 part mini-series Band Of Brothers, producers Steven Spielberg & Tom Hanks and HBO reteam for the World War II mini-series companion piece The Pacific.  It focuses primarily on three marines from separate regiments of U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater of Operations.  Based on the tormented memoirs of Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie and the life of John Basilone, The Pacific has a bit of a difficult time narrowing down into a coherent, smooth narrative which hurts the series a bit.  With this baffling choice, we're never fully involved with the characters to feel as deeply for them that we did with the men in Easy Company.

Another weakness with the series is it's lack of focus on someone in charge of the tactical side of the Pacific War seeing as we learn next to nothing about a lot of the questionable maneuvers they made.  It's one war-torn terrain to the next, without giving us any idea what exactly was going on with the placements of the marine themselves.  Band Of Brothers educated us with the tactical side of the war, the hands-on violent side and the hearts & minds of the soldiers, while The Pacific relies a little to heavily on the doom & gloom of overly long battle sequences that aren't much different from episode to episode.  This might work in a 3 hour film but to drag it out over 10 hours is simply not interesting enough to remain effective.

Where it does excel in, is it's brutal honesty and will to take risks in horrifying the viewer with questionable actions from the protagonists.  Normally, we're led to believe soldiers and marines are nothing but heroic, where as here these guys do some pretty terrible things to their enemy, each other and themselves.  It's unsettling to think human beings could perform senseless acts like this but something we need to know and never forget. 

With some jaw-dropping production values, wonderful performances from Jurrasic Park's Joseph Mazzello, Rubicon's James Badge Dale and Treme's John Seda, beautifully frightening music from Hans Zimmer, Geoff Zanelli & Blake Neely and some unforgettable stark scenes of brutality, violence and despair, The Pacific is definitely better than most television today.  It's just unfortunately had a lot to live up to, compared to the near-perfect Band Of Brothers.

10 Episodes. Roughly 60 minutes each.

Buyer’s Guide:
 Available in both DVD and Blu-Ray sets on it’s own and packaged with it’s companion series Band Of Brothers.

3½ letters that will never make it home out of 5

BAND OF BROTHERS [2001]

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”

Like Roots, Shogun and I, Cladius before it, HBO's Band Of Brothers is essential viewing when it comes to television mini-series events.  Telling the historical events recorded in Stephen Ambrose's biographical World War II novel of the same name, this 10-part mini-series is an experience not easily forgotten. 

The series follows "Easy Company": the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, from their paratrooper training in Georgia, U.S.A. right up to the taking of The Eagle's Nest in the mountains of Berchtesgaden, Germany.

While in most war films you really get a small idea of the different emotions a soldier will go through, BoB gives the viewer a more in-depth look over the 10-plus hours.  This allows for a more poignant experience than usual, that may or may not be welcome, depending on how emotionally drained you're prepared to be by the final moments.  Each episode mainly focuses on one particular soldier and unfolds like a short film in itself.  Evenly distributing out the history, military strategies, character development and intricate battle scenes gives a little something for everybody to be drawn into.  There might be a few historical inaccuracies, both intentional for dramatic purposes and some unintentional but as a whole you get the bigger picture that's intended with such subject matter.

Complimented with mind-blowing sound design, beautiful photography (both dreary and colorful), a career defining musical score from the late Michael Kamen, rich character development and an impressive ensemble cast of mostly unknowns (however keep an eye out for Simon Pegg, Jimmy Fallon, Michael Fassbender, James MacAvoy and Colin Hanks), Band Of Brothers is truly an unforgettable experience.

10 Episodes.  Roughly 60 minutes each.

Plus a 90 minute documentary follow-up.

Buyer’s Guide:

Available in both DVD and Blu-Ray sets on it’s own and packaged with it’s companion series The Pacific.

5 Stars out of 5