Unlimitedia
Sick Product of a Sick System
NekoHomey
Purely Joyful Movie!
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
bkoganbing
The battle for Wake Island concluded just before Christmas of 1941 and news from the place was pretty sketchy. It would not be known until after the war ended exactly what happened on the place.In many ways it was worse than what's shown here. With no help coming at all from the mainland USA or from Pearl Harbor which was licking its own wounds, there was an unconditional surrender declared. The construction workers who were building a base on the island when war broke out were all summarily executed as spies. The few Marines who did survive, survived in horrible captivity, probably made worse by the fact that America never tried to take the island back. When they had the overwhelming naval superiority, the Japanese were starved out, but so were the prisoners they had.So with an incomplete story at best, the writers at Paramount had free reign to do an Alamo like story and proceeded to do just that. Brian Donlevy is a stalwart Marine Colonel who clashes repeatedly with Albert Dekker the head of the construction workers. Comic relief is provided by Robert Preston and William Bendix as a pair of tough marines who joke about Bendix's impending discharge which occurs right on the day of Pearl Harbor.Bendix was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and while he's pretty funny in the part, when you consider he did a highly effective dramatic role in The Glass Key that same year, I'm wondering if the Academy put him up for the wrong film. He lost that year to Van Heflin for Johnny Eager.Wake Island is a dated story, dated but entertaining. Maybe someone will do a film of the real story there, the horrible captivity of our prisoners, just like what they endured in the Phillipines.
whpratt1
This is a great WW II film about an Island in the Pacific where the United States lost a great deal of their Marine soldiers. The Japs had attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and their were a few Islands that the United States had bases on in the Pacific. The Japs went to the White House to visit FDR and talked about peace and prosperity, and as soon as they left Washington, D.C. the bombs started attacking and making IT A DAY TO REMEMBER at Pearl Harbor! Brian Donlevy, (Maj.Geoffrey Caton),"Waco",'66, was a commander over the grounds forces and Air Force on Wake Island, Robert Preston,(Pvt. Joe Doyle),"The Music Man",'62 were great supporting actors along with Albert Dekker,(Shad McClosky),"Kiss Me Deadly",55, and William Bendix,(Pvt. Smacksie),"The Life of Riley",'53 TV Series. This film is not a documentary film and has some Hollywood versions, but it still is a great film with fantastic actors. There are also plenty of vintage fighting scenes between the Jap Pilots and the Americans.
PWNYCNY
"Wake Island" is one of those movies that cannot be dismissed as mere World War Two propaganda. The fact is that the battle for Wake Island actually happened, which is what this movie is about. Okay, some of the characterizations are pure Hollywood and the conflict between the military and civilian personnel is contrived, yet what is NOT contrived is the event itself. A small detachment of Marines and civilian contractors did hold the Japanese at bay for about two weeks and did this knowing that they were on their own and that there would be no reinforcements. So let's give credit where credit is due, and take the time to watch this movie. The men on Wake Island were heroes and this movie does them credit.
Nazi_Fighter_David
"Wake Island" is a battle for a small atoll in the Central Pacific Ocean west of Honolulu, which was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, hours after Pearl Harbor... The small U.S. marine garrison held out until the Japanese overran the island on December 23... It is a story of sacrifice of the gallant and doomed defenders, movingly portrayed by William Bendix, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy, MacDonald Carey and others... The battle scenes are chillingly photographed in Black and White, and the movie blows the clarion call for a new heroism... It is the 'Alamo of the Pacific,' the cry of 'Remember Wake Island," with the same stirring effects as 'Remember the Alamo,' one hundred years previously...Well done within its limits, the film bears the unmistakable stamp of truth, and hails as a realistic portrayal of brave men in war...
