The Pacific...Anyone watching it?

[PKerr]

I have to say, I am watching it but haven't really enjoyed it so far.
Sure there were a few good scenes here and there but for the most part it's just very boring.

I went in expecting a Band of Brothers set it the Pacific but this show is far from Band of Brothers, tis sad.

What do you think?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

It's OK. I actually liked the third episode the best. The problem I have is that they're walking through jungle and the fighting is at night so I can't see anything.

 

[Gaith]

Will Netflix on dvd.

 

[MPH]

Yeah its not great so far is it, didn't even bother with episode 3

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Episode 3 is nice, but it's not island hopping (just R&R in Melbourne).

 

[Bloodwhiner]

The show is harder to get into than BOB was.. The characters aren't as likeble and the story darker. But the truth is there, the PTO was as much a battle against the environment as it was against the Japanese.

 

[hamudm]

Band of Brothers being a twice/year viewing for me, the Pacific gets a "OK" rating so far from me. I think by its very nature, the Pacific isn't as compelling as BoB was.

 

[Star Wolf]

When the decision was made to follow three heroes instead of a unit all the supporting characters beside Marine folk hero Chesty became red shirts. And we know the three guys survived only the biggest buffs knew which members of Easy Company didn't make it home.

 

[Skywalker]

When the decision was made to follow three heroes instead of a unit all the supporting characters beside Marine folk hero Chesty became red shirts. And we know the three guys survived only the biggest buffs knew which members of Easy Company didn't make it home.

Are you sure about that?

 

[Mr. B]

I have enjoyed it so far. I think my expectations, or lack thereof, differ from those of you who have already commented. I have not watched part 4 yet. I know there is a lot more combat to follow in the remaining episodes.

I can sort of understand if people have not found the action as "entertaining." They were in fact fighting in the jungle... in the dark. I can't fault how that has been depicted... not that I have the slightest idea what it's really like.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Should've aired a year ago, before Tarantino made World War 2 fun again.

Band of Brothers was a bit self-serving (GREATEST GENERATION SAVED THE WORLD...rest of you....earrrrrn this...) while The Pacific seems so dour sometimes (especially part 4), it's hard to enjoy sometimes.

Guy kills himself...why should we care...or be forced to see his wing-wang?

 

[Skywalker]

Yeah, I wasn't expecting it to be much like Band of Brothers, if at all. With the setting being the PTO, which was a very different war from the ETO, and with the series focusing on three characters as opposed to an entire company's worth, I expected The Pacific to be darker than BoB, more somber, with a more introspective feel to it. And it certainly has been that. So while I haven't enjoyed the show as much as I enjoyed BoB through its first four episodes, I'm still liking it.

I kind of get the feeling that things are really going to pick up here in the latter half of the series, though. The first four episodes jumped from December 1941 to the middle of 1944, while the second half of the season will only span from mid-1944 to late 1945, so hopefully things will feel less disjointed.

 

[nx1701g]

I've DVRed it, but I haven't had time to watch it yet.

 

[Gatekeeper]

I haven't watched any episodes yet. Right now, I plan on purchasing the eventual Blu-ray release that will contain all 10 episodes together. That way, I can watch them uninterrupted.

Gatekeeper

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

The PTO was completely different from the European theater, so it's going to have a much different look.

Look at movies like Letters from Iwa Jima, the Thin Red Line and compare it to When Trumpets Fade, Band of Brothers...

 

[Dar70]

Its not bad. But the story just seems a little haphazard to me. It seems to be jumping all over the place and there has been little to no character development. Hope it gets better. BOB was much better. I will finish watching though. The battle scenes(while dark) are well done and the series still has some very good historical value. With memorial day coming up this is a great way to remind us of the sacrifices these solidiers made.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I'm watching, but I don't particularly like it. It doesn't have much of a plot, at least there's no real progress and/or character development. It's even more drippingly cheesy jingoistic than Band of Brothers, but it doesn't make up for that by being entertaining to watch. It is disappointingly mediocre imo.

 

[Icemizer]

It is a much more difficult theater of the war to show to viewers. There is not the continuity of moving forward in constant enemy contact over a long period of time. Attack one island, move on, attack another and so on. That lack of continuity makes for much harder story telling as there are few arcs for the characters. Also as mentioned above lots of night fighting doesnt help. I have found the series to be very good and have unending respect for the boys who were involved in the actual battles. Their sacrifice should never be forgotten.

 

[firehawk12]

As a show, it's been fairly disappointing. Knowing what happens to one of the characters, I'm sure a lot of it is building up to what happens to that character in one of the later episodes... but that doesn't help the fact that these last couple of episodes are lagging a bit.

Part of it is that it can't help but exist in cliche. Soldiers suffering mental breakdowns, bravery in combat, etc. Probably the only interesting aspect of the war - an explicitly racialized enemy - isn't even addressed.

 

[Docbrown777]

Part of it is that it can't help but exist in cliche. Soldiers suffering mental breakdowns, bravery in combat, etc.

This is why I don't think they should have even done an infantry centered series. It's kind of an over saturated market. Ever since Saving Private Ryan came out there has been a steady stream of graphic infantry centered war movies. Many of them good but there have been so many that it is hard for this series to match their quality. BOB came out almost ten years ago when the genre was not as overdone.

In my opinion they should have done a series based on an air craft carrier crew. You could do it about the USS Yorktown which fought in the Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway. You could focus on the pilots some but also damage control teams that had to do amazingly heroic things themselves to try and save their ship.

Or (and I guess I'm biased here) you could focus the series on the USS Enterprise which is the most decorated ship in United States Navy history and was present at a whole bunch of key engagements. In fact in a ten part series they would have trouble showing all the battles she was in.