HBO's "The Pacific" is disappointing...

[Regs]

I disagree with the negative sentiment - I love this show. Stop comparing it to BoB FFS, it's not BoB 2.

It's targeted to the same audience. How can you not compare the two?

 

[Fingolfin269]

It's targeted to the same audience. How can you not compare the two?

From a production standpoint they are comparable. The content is different and the only real similarity is that they are both about WW2. That is where the comparison should end.

 

[GTaudiophile]

It is no BoB.

The magic of BoB is the character development, how well they interact, and the ability to "feel" the "band" on screen. Truly unique stuff!

 

[soulcougher73]

It is just ok so far. I mean sure its cool its WW2 stuff and all, but the character development/sympothy is just not there. And i agree you can compare it to BoB since it is the same directors/producers and both about WW2. Maybe they would of been better off following one company through the Pacific Theater then doing what they are doing now.

 

[rudder]

I'm waiting for the DVDs on this one and I'll take a weekend and knock out the whole series at once.

Regarding the racist comments... I seem to remember BoB being filled with similar derogatory names for the Germans. The different race aspect of the Japanese versus Germans just makes this more of a stark difference.

Yes, but the Germans weren't cutting of penises and stuffing them in the owners mouth.

Regarding the OP's comments... I am not so sure that the convoluted episodes were not by design. People in the U.S. probably saw war with Germany as inevitable. Then all of a sudden there was Pearl Harbor and shortly after that the Marines are island hopping facing an enemy whose brutality they did not expect. For instance, the troops who were ordered to surrender in the Philippines had no idea what they were in for. They were expecting the same treatment one would expect in the European theater.

 

[Kirby]

What was so great about BoB? Just seems like an extended version of Saving Private Ryan.

BoB was over 9000 times better than SPR.

SPR is overrated as hell anyway.

 

[purbeast0]

i like it a lot so far.

too many people crying that it is not as good as band of brothers or too different.

go watch band of brothers instead then.

 

[Kirby]

Watched the first two eps.....kinda sucks. I don't know who is who and the action seems unrealistic. WHy did the Japanese just keep running into the machine gun anyway? There seems to be a 50:1 kill ratio so far.

Banzai!!!!

 

[Demo24]

I get that it's not suppose to be BOB, and I try not to directly compare, but that show did present the story in a much more follow-able fashion with better character development. It seems in the Pacific we have some Marines, ok extremely small back story...boom, on the island, some small firefights, ok done. I just don't get the same feeling of immersion in the story and it's kind of disappointing to me.

I think Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima movies did a better job with telling this side of the story even if it did only focus on one island.

 

[Kev]

From a production standpoint they are comparable. The content is different and the only real similarity is that they are both about WW2. That is where the comparison should end.

Even if you don't compare the 2, The Pacific is still a snoozefest up to this point.

 

[CRXican]

It's hard to feel what they're feeling considering you don't know who's who.

yep, that's the one thing I don't like

 

[preslove]

The characterization is different because the themes are different. BoB's was "we fight for the guy next to us," whereas it seems that Pacific is "this if fucking hell, I'm just a cog in the machine and fate will determine whether I survive or not." Pacific is much darker and doesn't really go for the characterization. It really is going for the dehumanization of war, it looks like, which is a theme that doesn't really call for strong character back-stories.

This seems like a pretty appropriate them for the hellish nightmare that was the Pacific theater for WW2.

The only thing I don't like so far is that in Ep. 2 the machine gun hero's unit was still alive. In real life it was only him and one other guy left.

 

[Aharami]

Let's put it this way. I remember and can visualize a lot of scenes for BoB. But I can't seem to remember any particular scene with great detail from TP. Now, TP is only 3 episodes in, so there is a lot less content to burn an image in my brain, but still, last time I watched BoB was over a year ago

 

[preslove]

Let's put it this way. I remember and can visualize a lot of scenes for BoB. But I can't seem to remember any particular scene with great detail from TP. Now, TP is only 3 episodes in, so there is a lot less content to burn an image in my brain, but still, last time I watched BoB was over a year ago

I can remember 1 dude mowing down dozens of Japanese soldiers with a 30 caliber machine gun, then running into enemy fire and pushing over a bunch of bodies to clear the field of fire. I'd put Episode 2 up against anything in BoB.

 

[purbeast0]

I can remember 1 dude mowing down dozens of Japanese soldiers with a 30 caliber machine gun, then running and into enemy fire and pushing over a bunch of bodies to clear the field of fire. I'd put Episode 2 up against anything in BoB.

i thought the scene near the very end of episode one where they are toying with that japanese guy was pretty intense and memorable.

 

[WT]

Maybe to appease all of you bleeding hearts they should have the PC POLICE fly in aboard a rainbow colored helicopter every time someone says the word 'Jap' because you know, they didn't really say that a lot back then... it was all added to this show for dramatic purposes!

QFT.

Wow, is this what concerns kids these days ?? Amazing to think that someone would watch a mini-series on WWII and not expect to hear those comments. When someone is shooting at you with the intent to kill you, you tend to de-humanize their very existence, to the point that you will not hesitate to kill them a split second sooner.

The atrocities that a veteran witnesses in war hardens them beyond comprehension. Your buddies dying every day that you just talked with. Women and children killed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Read about the Bataan death march and see if you wouldn't use racist words at every opportunity.

 

[Liet]

I wasn't even alive during WW2, and I still haven't completely forgiven the Japanese for the atrocities they committed. They sunk to a subhuman level that even the Germans tried to keep somewhat hushed.

 

[Brovane]

I have been watching it. Episode 3 was fairly slow. I also get the impression that the Marines had a lower operational tempo in the Pacific than the European theather. In Europe as soon as D-Day lands there is fairly constant fighting all the way to Berlin. In the Pacific once a island is secured then the Marines hand it over the Army and they go back for a rest and refit and get ready to take the next island. This makes for a different serious of actions and tempo to the serious than Band of Brothers. So far I am enjoying the series.

 

[darkxshade]

Good thing I didn't get my hopes up. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be up to snuff with BoB. The pacific theater was an entirely different atmosphere... it couldn't hope to capture the essense of the 2nd world war and comradarie as BoBs did. That's not to say the Pacific sucked ass, it's still enjoyable but once you stop comparing it to BoB, you'll enjoy it more for what it is on it's own.

 

[Feneant2]

I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. Episode 3 was welcome as it developed the characters a bit more and I think it will only get better as it progresss.

One thing I don't like is you can't really make heads or tails of how long the battles lasted or who is fighting as it's always in the dark, the soldiers are dirty, etc. Take John Basilone who won the medal of honor... in the show it didn't seem all the impressive to me but then I read the description on Wikipedia and you see that he deserved it tenfold :

On the night of October 24–25, 1942 his unit engaged the Japanese in the Lunga area when their position came under attack by a regiment of approximately 3,000 soldiers. The Japanese forces began a frontal attack using machine-guns, grenades and mortars against the American heavy machine-guns. Basilone commanded two sections of machineguns that fought for the next 48 hours until only Basilone and two other men were still able to continue fighting. Basilone moved an extra gun into position and maintained continual fire against the incoming Japanese forces. He repaired another machine-gun and personally manned it, holding the defensive line until replacements arrived. With the continuous fighting, ammunition became critically low and supply lines were cut off. Basilone fought through hostile lines and returned with urgently needed ammunition for his gunners. By the end of the battle, the Japanese regiment was virtually annihilated.

This also confirms that the Japanese in the show are behaving exactly like the rabid fanatical soldiers that they were.

Ps- As obvious as it may be, take note that as the show is based on a true story, Wikipedia contains spoilers.

 

[Kur]

They had a preview about why The Pacific is different. With BOB they could follow 1 unit that went through the entire war. With The Pacific there was no single unit that went through the entire war together, or was there the entire time. So they essentially tell the story of 3 different people/units instead that went through the war.

The reason why I think people don't like the Pacific is that this was nothing like the war in Europe. There wasn't huge epic battles, the Japanese played their cards right and made the Americans fight on their terms, which in turn gave them a huge advantage.

Just like the last epidose of the Pacific:

Spoiler

Everyone get's laid

 

[DrunkenSano]

I like it so far, mainly because I know that the Pacific Theater was nothing like the European theater. Island hopping is completely different than crossing large swaths of land. The combat theater in Europe was enormous for the soldiers on the ground while in the Pacific, most of the time spent moving around on ships to be deployed.

 

[Mide]

Yeah the last episode (3) was kinda slow and lame.

 

[0roo0roo]

Watched the first two eps.....kinda sucks. I don't know who is who and the action seems unrealistic. WHy did the Japanese just keep running into the machine gun anyway? There seems to be a 50:1 kill ratio so far.

The same reason white dudes popped outa trenches and ran straight towards machine guns in ww1. They were ordered to.

 

[Rudee]

If only the Japanese learned how to shoot their weapons while charging at the enemy. From what I've seen in the Pacific so far, the Japanese are shown charging American positions with rifles in hand, but not firing the rifles while charging. Makes for easy pickin's