WRITERS: Bruce C. McKenna, Laurence Andries & Robert Schenkkan[SPOILERS] War changes people; sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Sledge (Joe Mazzello) was a religious country boy dreaming of war, and now he's realizing war's not fun it's terrifying, has taken up smoking, and has earned himself the macho nickname "Sledgehammer" (a moniker to live up to?) It really helps that Sledge is such a plain-faced everyman, because he's a blank slate we can project on as an audience, which helps you feel closer to the drama. The Pacific's done a poor job with its characters in my estimation, but thankfully a few are starting to stand out from the pack at last.
DIRECTOR: Tony To
The assault on Peleliu's airstrip was the focus of Part Six, which gave us more of the gritty action that ended Part Five. It's the shot of adrenaline this miniseries needed, because now the characters are being shaped in the fires of war, and that's just more entertaining to see unfold. I'm still disappointed by how The Pacific's drama doesn't click with the prologues of archive footage, though. This week, the preface setup the idea that this mission was undertaken in sweltering heat with no drinking water. In the actual hour's drama, the lack of water may have been mentioned a lot, but I never got the sense that everyone was all that thirsty (where were the cracked lips?) and the sense of humidity was missing. A few scenes of heat haze across the landscape may have helped, or dripping sweat from the troops.
More characters came into sharper focus this week, which was good to see: from "Snafu" (Rami Malek), the disquieting marine we met stealing gold teeth from a Japanese corpse, who actually felt more human in his interaction with buddy Sledge; grizzled Sgt "Gunny" Haney (Gary Sweet) was back playing the kind of alpha male the marines now find amusing behind his back; and Captain Haldane (Scott Gibson), the sort of decent leader you need to keep morale up, who's prepared to do anything to make sure his men get through this nightmare.
The action sequences were good, if nothing remarkable. It still puzzles me that the price-tag of this miniseries is a stratospheric $150m, but I can only assume they're saving the bulk of that cash for the final run of episodes. It's also unfortunate that CGI has become so commonplace in war drama's, because there's a glaze of artificiality to sequences nowadays. Whenever there are scenes involving ships and water it's particularly obvious how much just exists in a digital space, which distances you from the reality. Some of the CGI has been used very well in The Pacific, but there are regular lapses that make my eyes roll. Again, with a budget of approx. $20m per episode, that's disappointing.
Overall, Part Six was definitely a strong episode that offered more entertainment than usual, and I'm glad the characters are beginning to take shape. The moment when a marine started screaming from a nightmare and had to be killed to stop him giving away their position was a grim reminder of how far people will go to keep the majority safe, too. Leckie (James Badge Dale) was less integral than usual, but after heroically recovering a radio he found himself badly injured and taken to a medical ship to recover, reacquainted with "Runner" Conley (Keith Nobbs), the soldier who nicknamed him "Peaches". I realize the show is half-based on fact, but I sure hope Part Seven doesn't again slam on the brakes with an episode set aboard the floating hospital. I think it's about time The Pacific got down to business after half a season of teasing.
Asides
- It's notable how little we've seen of the Japanese on-screen. I guess it's intentional, but it's a little strange to me. The only Japanese faces we've had a good look at are either injured and dying or already dead.
- Also interesting to see Sid return to the Sledge family home to assure them their son Eugene will be fine, as he was clearly lying and doesn't think a sweet boy like Eugene will last a day. I wonder what the Sledge's will make of their boy when he, hopefully, returns home from war. I don't think he'll be quite the same kid anymore.
