53 Unfolding
"As a work reflecting World War II, "The Pacific" faces immense challenges. Not only are there cinematic masterpieces like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Letters from Iwo Jima", but also outstanding miniseries like "Band of Brothers". The theme of war presents itself to the audience from all angles, demanding not only innovative breakthroughs from the production team but also fresh perspectives built upon the existing foundation.
"The Pacific" achieved this.
This miniseries focused its perspective on three characters: Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone. The series can be divided into two parts: the first five episodes, narrated by Robert Leckie, directly reflect the impact of war's wounds on soldiers, from physical injuries to shattered humanity, stumbling along. The latter five episodes place the main narrative responsibility on Eugene Sledge, revealing the profound effects of continuous warfare on every participant—both allies and enemies—not just on the battlefield but also in every aspect of life.
In addition, John Basilone, a well-known American war hero, has his storyline interwoven, spotlighting the stark contrast between survival and death. This particularly occurs as the cold cruelty of the primary battlefields coincides with the revelries of America's homeland, adding a touch of lamentable irony.
The true soul of "The Pacific" is Eugene Sledge. In the first five episodes, Robert's desolation and displacement set the foundation, depicting a war-ravaged battlefield. John entwines battlefield and homefront lives, skillfully transitioning the weight of the story from the first half to the intellectual elevation of the latter. Finally, all the burdens rest upon Eugene, requiring him to engage in "reflection."
This is also the fundamental reason for the uneven quality of the series.
The first half of the story has too much setup and too many threads, and the thematic ideas are not entirely clear. This leads to a slightly chaotic pace and intermittent moments of reflection induced by war scenes, failing to truly connect with the audience. However, in the latter half, as all threads converge onto Eugene, the condensed thematic ideas finally burst forth with immense power:
What can a war truly bring? Survival and death? Victory and defeat? Honor and shame?
Eugene Sledge tells us it's far more complex than that.
Each time hands are stained with blood, fragments of the soul are lost, gradually losing oneself until the path back is obscured. With each witnessed killing, thoughts become numb, and the darkness and cruelty of humanity reach their extreme. After losing trust, they gradually turn into beasts, dancing on the precipice of life and death, making their past lives seem remote. Witnessing everything from the rear lines pales in comparison to the firsthand experience of blood-soaked battles. Nobody can understand that feeling unless they stand on the battlefield, leading them to forcibly isolate themselves from their previous lives, becoming lost.
The true cruelty of war lies in shattering souls, destroying humanity, and severing connections to family, friends, loved ones, and society. It's akin to a footless bird marooned on an island, compelled to advance ceaselessly, driven only by combat and killing. They lose complete control over themselves.
This loneliness and anguish are more terrifying than war itself, more brutal than PTSD, and bloodier than life and death. Because this fractures society into innumerable shards, like a shattered mirror that can't be made whole again.
Indeed, this is the core idea of "The Pacific". Robert Leckie embodies it, John Basilone embodies it, Eugene Sledge embodies it, and many other characters do as well. However, Renly Hall, the 20-year-old actor, infuses Eugene Sledge with vibrant vitality, vivid yet real, cruel yet cold, presenting the entire process.
With every pang of pain, every collision, every drop of blood, even every step, you can see the light in those eyes dim a fraction, as if a corner of the soul is torn apart once again. There are no heart-wrenching screams, no desperate struggles, no numbing indifference, yet the delicate emotions convey a tsunami-like shock, allowing every viewer to clearly feel the grandeur and vastness of the changing tides of time.
Before you're even aware, tears have already welled up, emotions surge deep within, rising and falling with every move Eugene makes.
This powerful performance aura rekindles the brilliance of "The Pacific"! It's even worthy of being classified as a classic!
Why is it that the series managed to rise continuously in the latter half despite the controversies surrounding its initial episodes and ultimately become a classic? Objectively speaking, the overall structural framework of the series plays a decisive role. After all, it's fundamentally an ensemble work, where the outstanding elements from each part collectively contribute to the exceptional quality of the whole!
However, without Renly Hall, none of this would be complete. Just as Tom Hanks said at the premiere, Renly Hall is the soul of "The Pacific". He not only carries the weight of the story but also holds the key to its elevation. The efforts of the entire production team contributed to both failure and success, but the credit for the classic status undoubtedly goes to Renly Hall."
This film review comes from Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal. He didn't rush to write the review immediately, waiting until the series reached its conclusion. For a miniseries, DVD sales are the main event, and regular broadcasting doesn't reveal many problems. So, he could take his time.
Kyle gave "The Pacific" a high score of 95 points, causing the series' media reviews to astonishingly surpass "Band of Brothers". Although it's only a one-point lead with a score of 87, for the controversial "The Pacific", this is truly remarkable.
Even though this is just one opinion from The Wall Street Journal, and most reviewers still refuse to acknowledge that the improvement of the reputation of "The Pacific" is due to Renly Hall, it doesn't matter. What matters is that the audience reputation of "The Pacific" has clearly started to climb, and the most direct and evident proof is the IMDb rating.
This rating was only 7.3 during its low point, which was a disaster for the ambitious HBO. However, after the sixth episode aired and with the gradual increase in the number of raters, the score began to slowly climb. By the time the ninth episode concluded, the score had returned to 8.5!
8.5 might still be a long way from the unattainable 9.5 of "Band of Brothers", but for the battle-hardened "The Pacific", it's news worth celebrating. This score has successfully propelled "The Pacific" into the top 100 rankings of the TV Classics Top 250 list, once again reaffirming the unbeatable legacy of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
From 7.3 to 8.5, from the fourth episode to the ninth, in this short span of time, the world underwent a monumental transformation, and the discussions on the Yahoo community forums changed completely.
After the livestream of the ninth episode ended, William immediately opened the Yahoo community thread, eager to share his thoughts.
"When the young heir gently embraced that nameless woman, I suddenly couldn't hold back my emotions. I cannot put into words what the young heir went through, but I truly felt the warmth that was on the verge of fading away within him: gentle, bitter, soft, painful, bloody, weathered, lost, scarred – he pinned that fading life to his chest. It wasn't until this moment that I realized the most brutal aspect of war isn't death, because after death, everything ends. What's truly terrifying is to stay alive, carrying the burden of comrades' sacrifices, the extinguishing of innocent lives, the brutality of eradicating enemies, and continuing to survive in this frigid world."
As he typed, William suddenly broke down. Tears overflowed, even though he hadn't felt this way while watching "Band of Brothers".
"Band of Brothers" could ignite fiery passion or bring forth tearful emotions, but its success lay in portraying the brotherly camaraderie in battle. That emotion was enough to drive any man wild, yet the connection with individual characters remained weak. However, "The Pacific" was different. It was a more intimate work, centered around Robert, around John, around Eugene. The suffering they endured, reflected in every soldier, silently protested against war.
In "The Pacific", this close connection trapped William. He became deeply immersed in the characters' emotions. When he saw the glint of tear drops in Eugene's eyes, gentle as a March breeze, yet disappearing in an instant, the pain and struggle etched on his brow voraciously consumed all the sadness. The tempestuous waves of emotion unleashed in that moment attacked William's senses, leaving him overwhelmed.
"The young heir sat quietly, silently, cradling the lifeless body. At that moment, even time refrained from making a sound. Jesus Christ, I love the young heir. I love "The Pacific". This is a work superior to "Band of Brothers". I swear, I am not lying."
As William read this post, his gaze swept across and landed on a familiar username, "Champagne Enthusiast". A smile formed on his lips. It seemed he wasn't the only one who felt this way.
"A ten, absolutely a ten! Just based on the young heir's performance today, "The Pacific" deserves a ten!"
"To hell with Hanks and Spielberg! I'm watching this series solely for Eugene!"
"Can't believe it, simply can't believe it! Today's episode was truly exceptional, pushing up the overall score of the series! "The Pacific" can finally join the classics, and there's only one reason: Eugene Sledge."
With one episode left to conclude the series, people suddenly realized, even if they were reluctant to admit it, even if it was unbelievable, the fact remained: the name "Eugene Sledge" was radiating a dazzling light. Almost single-handedly, he had pulled "The Pacific" back from the precipice and propelled it to its zenith!
