The Pacific

[huntssurplus]

I know someone has most likely given a review on this HBO miniseries but after re-watching it for the 3rd time I would like to give my opinion.

 

*WARNING SPOILERS BELOW*

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this miniseries and think it was very well done as a hole. It was a bit different from Band of Bothers with the fact that it followed 3 Marines instead of a hole company (although it did mostly follow the 1st Marine Division specifically). This is definitely on of the better and more historical programs you can watch related to WW2 especially with the fact that it follows the Marines in the Pacific theater of war instead of how most movies and TV shows take place in the ETO. In terms of historical accuracy I think it did really good.

 

Now it is almost impossible to be 100% historically accurate but noticing the small details such as how during Iwo Jima and Okinawa it showed some of the chinstraps changing from the khaki OD3 to a green OD7. I also liked how during Guadalcanal the marines did not have helmet covers as they were not in use yet. I also thought the costumes were pretty accurate as well.

 

Now in terms of how historic the story is, I don't claim to be an expert but I feel they didn't stray to far from what actually happened and they tried to keep to the facts for the most part except for when they have to dramatize specific parts in order to better tell the story.

 

Now for historical criticism in terms of accuracy. Again I am no expert on history but sometimes it showed field gear unorganized during training on the drill sergeants or other marines and other small things like that but nothing that really took too much away from the series again it is pretty much impossible to be 100% historically accurate.

 

Now for story aspects ranking the story's I 100% feel Eugene Sledge's story line was the best, it was the best told the best action, the best writing, the best everything really I really liked Sledge as a characters I liked the supporting characters to his story one of my favorite being Snafu (I really like Snafu). Captain Haldane was good, the multiple other mortar squad mates he had, his friend Sid from Alabama who was also in the 1st marine division. Everyone was good, I was really invested in him as a character when one of the others was killed it really hit me hard even though I knew it was coming and I feel that it really showed off what war was like.

 

Now my second would be Robert Lecky's story. It showed off a different part of war I will get into later during this review and again I like a lot of the characters but not as much as I did for Sledge's story. They just didn't go enough in depth into them and It just wasn't the same like in Sledge's story. Now that's not to say I didn't like them I thought they were good characters but they weren't expanded upon enough but I did see the comradery that the story was kind of about.

 

Now my least favorite of the story's was John Basilone. It was still good but I feel really suffered and was not nearly as fleshed out as the other 2. I didn't really care much during Manny's death as I didn't know enough about him to care enough. the only other character I really cared about was Chuck Tatum. I feel Basilone's story really suffered from how what he did on Guadalcanal wasn't really shown well and I never really understood when I was watching just what he did and why he really deserved the Medal of Honor it felt almost a little forced. And then that was really it for him, we saw him in Melbourne for his Medal of Honor ceremony and then during Iwo Jima but that was it really. He was basically pulled out of the story for Lecky and Sledge's stories to really shine and when he came back I didn't really feel a connection to his character. And when the Iwo Jima episode ended I was a little disappointed because they didn't really show any of the battle. The episode was titled "Iwo Jima" but we got a love story instead, which was fine but I wished more of the episode was dedicated to the episode, maybe showing Chuck Tatum during Iwo Jima or something.

 

Now I understand that the miniseries was only 10 episodes but there were a lot of other cool battles I wish were shown off, it makes since though that in order to make way for the story some stuff would have to be cut out I just feel that an entire episode did not have tp be dedicated to Melbourne, but then again in the interest of the story it might have been needed.

 

Now for what I feel each story represents. I think Eugene Sledge's story represents more of the horrors of war, and what it will do to someone turning an enthusiastic new marine into a PTSD filled killing machine. Again it was my favorite story line and I really liked Eugene Sledge as a character.

 

Robert Lecky's story was more about what war does to friendships and love. When he dates Stella during the Melbourne episode Stella ends up pushing him away because of how Lecky puts it "She thinks he is gonna get killed". Stella is worried about the toll it will take on her mom if Lecky was to be killed. For the friendship part of his story the miniseries seems to focus more on Lecky being worried about his friends rather then about him focusing on combat. Multiple times during the series is worried about his marine friends and whether or not they are okay and this is an important part of his story.

 

Finally I think John Basilone's story is the hardest to find the meaning. I believe it to be No one is invincible in war however. In the end out of the 3 marines John Basilone is the only one to get killed during the miniseries. Basilone having won the Medal of Honor decides to go re-enlist and train the new marines, he ends up shipping to Iwo Jima where he ends up getting shot and killed during the landing on the island. In the end after all the time Basilone has spent in the corps and even with a Medal of Honor he still ends up getting killed showing that no one is invincible during war.

 

In conclusion I think the Pacific is a solid HBO miniseries that everyone should watch and besides the criticism I have given it I still think it will become a classic and is something everyone no matter if you are a collector or a regular person should watch. In terms of rating I will give it an 8.5/10 It really is good.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read and I would like to hear your own opinions below!

 

Hunt

[patches]

Here's a big topic on the both of them Hunt.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/128337-which-did-you-like-better/?hl=%2Bband+%2Bbrothers

[m1ashooter]

For me what I saw about Gunnery Sergeant Basilone made sense to me. I was raised in NJ by a Korea War Marine and I was taught by my dad very early on who Gunnery Sergeant Basilone was and what he did. The other two main characters had the advantage of writing books about their experience. If you haven't read their books I highly recommend them.. Also Sledge wrote another book about about his China experience which also is a good read.

 

I watch the Pacific a couple times a year and tear up every time Basilone is killed. He is a hero of mine. Also my uncle fought on Iwo so there is a family connection.

 

Thanks for a well thought out review.

[Blu1989]

The Pacific is a great miniseries. A friend of mine gave me his box set to have as he had received one as a Christmas gift. Since my dad was a member of the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam I grew up learning who Chesty Puller and John Basilone were so getting to see them portrayed as they were was a great viewpoint. I also had the privilege of meeting Sid Phillips a couple of years before he passed away. A friend of my mom grew up in the same town as Mr. Phillips and was a patient of Mr. Phillips as well so I had a great connection to him. I talked to him a little about the war but mostly I told him about my dad being in the 1st Marine Division and the fact that he was a mortar man as well. Eugene Sledge's story was by far the best for me anyway because it completely showed his combat service as well as his evolving (or devolving depending on your perspective) mindset throughout the many individual battles he fought. I've rewatched the series multiple times and the only real complaint I have is that every Japanese soldier shown was using a type 38 rifle. This might have been the case in the earlier battles but there should have been at least a few type 99s in there just to be a little more historically accurate, especially during the later battles when they were more common. Other than that I love both this series and Band of Brothers and definitely recommend them to anyone who's interested in military history and hasn't seen either one yet.

[huntssurplus]

Here's a big topic on the both of them Hunt.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/128337-which-did-you-like-better/?hl=%2Bband+%2Bbrothers

 

Thanks ill give them a look!

 

Hunt

[huntssurplus]

For me what I saw about Gunnery Sergeant Basilone made sense to me. I was raised in NJ by a Korea War Marine and I was taught by my dad very early on who Gunnery Sergeant Basilone was and what he did. The other two main characters had the advantage of writing books about their experience. If you haven't read their books I highly recommend them.. Also Sledge wrote another book about about his China experience which also is a good read.

 

I watch the Pacific a couple times a year and tear up every time Basilone is killed. He is a hero of mine. Also my uncle fought on Iwo so there is a family connection.

 

Thanks for a well thought out review.

 

Yeah I understand. This was the first time I was really introduced to John Basilone so even though I have watched the series a few times I still never really gain the kind of connection I do with Eugene Sledge or Robert Lecky. I guess a lot of the Iwo Jima episode was really trying to get those who didn't know much about Basilone going into the series to feel a connection to him, but I still feel he didn't get enough screen time. Maybe it is just me not really having too much knowledge on John Basilone going into the series, but I still feel the series could have benefited from giving him some more screen time.

 

Thanks for your response,

Hunt

[huntssurplus]

The Pacific is a great miniseries. A friend of mine gave me his box set to have as he had received one as a Christmas gift. Since my dad was a member of the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam I grew up learning who Chesty Puller and John Basilone were so getting to see them portrayed as they were was a great viewpoint. I also had the privilege of meeting Sid Phillips a couple of years before he passed away. A friend of my mom grew up in the same town as Mr. Phillips and was a patient of Mr. Phillips as well so I had a great connection to him. I talked to him a little about the war but mostly I told him about my dad being in the 1st Marine Division and the fact that he was a mortar man as well. Eugene Sledge's story was by far the best for me anyway because it completely showed his combat service as well as his evolving (or devolving depending on your perspective) mindset throughout the many individual battles he fought. I've rewatched the series multiple times and the only real complaint I have is that every Japanese soldier shown was using a type 38 rifle. This might have been the case in the earlier battles but there should have been at least a few type 99s in there just to be a little more historically accurate, especially during the later battles when they were more common. Other than that I love both this series and Band of Brothers and definitely recommend them to anyone who's interested in military history and hasn't seen either one yet.

 

I agree, the series is really great and I really enjoyed it. Again I feel the complaints I have are really minor and I really do think the series is really well done just like Band of Brothers.

 

Thanks for your response,

Hunt