The Legendary Actor - Chapter 47

Although Bradley had been warning himself against comparing “The Pacific” to “Band of Brothers”, even if the production team was similar, they were two very different films, but when the episodes began to play, the roughness was still reminiscent of that acclaimed classic.

“Ooooh!” When real veterans’ interviews appeared on the big screen leading the audience back to that period of time, there was some hooting done solely out of wonder.

The similar texture of the picture and the similar frame structure awakened the audience’s inner ecstasy. The audience’s anticipation for “The Pacific” could be clearly felt on the scene, and the long-awaited excitement and joy overflowed unrestrainedly. Bradley couldn’t help but smile and wave his fist symbolically.

But Bradley soon realized the difference between the two works, and that they were completely and utterly different.

The first episode of “Band of Brothers” opens with a boot camp, where more than twenty characters’ fates were intertwined in a way that would make fainthearted look away. Yet, each unnamed character will, through the grueling boot camp, become three-dimensional in just a few strokes, and the tension that pervades the air will make the urgency of war deeply felt. The opening scene of the group showed a profound sense of timing and control, quickly raising the anticipation.

“The Pacific”, on the other hand, begins with family life, depicting the immediate reaction of American society to the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor, with anxiety and unease slowly pervading beneath the layer of songs and dances.

The episode takes an ordinary day in the life of Robert Leckie and John Basilone before they joined the army as a starting point, describing their lives with their families. The trivial stories of daily life seem to be depicted as if unintentionally, but the details reveal the ingenuity of the people’s reactions to the war – full of confidence and marching forward, their anxiety about the war masked under their confidence in victory, even the festive atmosphere is unsettling.

Without the hardships of the boot camp, “Band of Brothers” is more realistic, and truly connects the war with reality, which adds a touch of reality to the show that resonates with the audience.

Bradley was a little surprised by this opening, which was undoubtedly bold, but also wise. As a journalist, not a professional film critic, and not an audience member, he knew that such a choice would undermine the audience’s expectations and would likely be met with bad press, but such a radical change was good for “The Pacific” and demonstrated Steven Spielberg’s determination to create a show that was unlike any other. This gave him an inkling of anticipation for the rest of the story.

The beginning of “Band of Brothers” is not spectacular or compelling, but it is sincere in its simplicity, establishing the initial friendship between the soldiers and at the same time drawing a stark contrast between the difficulties of boot camp and the devastation of the subsequent battlefield, laying a solid foundation for the exciting episodes to follow.

“The Pacific” begins in a mundane and trivial way, giving the characters enough time to be fully and clearly revealed to the audience, with images and names clearly matching, and establishing enough of a connection between the audience and the characters so much that Bradley begins to wonder, what is the purpose of this?

Does the peace and tranquility of family life contrast with the cruelty and cold-bloodedness of war, or does the framing of a family outline the pain and hardship of the three characters on the battlefield? Or do they have other ideas?

In between thoughts, Bradley’s eyes lit up when he finally saw Renly was on the scene.

Eugene Sledge, like the other two main characters, starts with a family life. The father who is a doctor, announces the painful verdict.

Eugene is unable to join the army because of a heart condition that prevents him from passing the test. Meanwhile, Eugene’s brother has changed his uniform and is about to enter the war. Disappointed and angry at the sight of his father and brother, Eugene leaves the house to bid farewell to his best friend, Sid, who will be joining the army tomorrow.

In Bradley’s eye, Renly’s performance brought a taste of something different, and should be considered the first bright spot in the opening twenty minutes of the show.

The first thing to come out after the show was a long exhale from tension and Kyle-Smith, a veteran professional film critic for The Wall Street Journal, shook his head to clear his chest of stiffness. He exhaled, his thoughts were a little mixed up and a little heavy. The first episode had already ended, and it was almost an hour long, so he needed to clear his mind, sort out his feelings, and then objectively judge the episode.

In terms of framework and structure, “The Pacific” has abandoned the cinematic approach of “Band of Brothers” and adopted a more miniseries-like approach.

In the first episode of “The Pacific”, it is obvious that the structure of the script is paved and pushed forward layer by layer, and the hints buried today may not emerge until the next few episodes.

The three main characters appear separately, but in the latter part of the episode, Robert Leckie becomes the lead character, while the other two characters disappear.

The weakness of this approach is that the unique cinematic quality of “Band of Brothers” is lost; however, the strength is that the ideological core of the entire series slowly builds up, and if it eventually explodes into sublimity, then the depth, height, and connotation of the series will surpass that of “Band of Brothers”.

This keeps the anticipation of “The Pacific” alive, as only the first episode was shown today.

From the lens texture and special effects, the $223 million investment in “The Pacific” has undoubtedly been paid off, and the uniqueness, hardship, and intensity of the island war have been demonstrated.

When the American army successfully ambushed and annihilated all the attacking Japanese, leaving only one Japanese soldier across the river to resist, the soldiers began to play a game of cat and mouse with this Japanese soldier, playing with his live.

Unfortunately, the first episode is a bit too conservative, with little novelty in terms of structure and plot direction, and the plot seems a bit fragmented, over-powered in some parts and under-developed in others.

As a miniseries, the first episode of “The Pacific” scores an eighty out of hundred. In Kyle’s mind, the first episode of “Band of Brothers” was an eighty-five, and you could feel that the overall level of the two shows was slightly different. But Kyle didn’t regret it at all, because the first episode brought a surprise!

Renly Hall.

Kyle has to admit that this newcomer bursted with unbelievable charm. Although Renly’s Eugene only appears for less than three minutes, the intricacies of the emotions are powerfully revealed in the subtle performance.

The most memorable scene is undoubtedly the one in which Eugene stands at the entrance of the hall watching his father and brother, a mere three-second pause, but one can clearly feel the pain of disappointment woven with the sunlight on his thin shoulders.

He doesn’t even show his face, let alone his eyes. The expressiveness of his body language is so natural that when he appears on the screen, the audience’s eyes can’t help but focus on him.

A mere glimpse, but it left a lasting aftertaste, which is incredible.

Kyle is curious about Renly, wondering how far his acting talent will reach, whether this is just a spark of genius or whether it will carry over into all the rest of his performances, and what story he will tell about Eugene’s character, which is, after all, only three minutes of the first episode. It was stunning indeed, but still not enough to say much.

What is undeniable is that, as an actor, Renly’s debut was impressive.

Looking back at the premiere and the admiration of Tom and Steven, Kyle originally thought it was just a publicity stunt, that compared to the other two actors, Renly was younger, fresher, and more handsome, with more potential for publicity and commercial value, and that the compliments should be part of the publicity strategy.

The first episode’s rating is estimated at seventy-five points, if you leave out Renly, but it’s because of Renly’s presence that Kyle is filled with anticipation.

It’s still all about the buildup and set-up, and the next nine episodes are the real meat of the story.

If the high praise for “Band of Brothers” before tonight’s premiere left people a little skeptical about “The Pacific” then after the premiere, Kyle believes that at least the first episode succeeded in its mission and kept the anticipation alive.

Kyle is already eagerly awaiting the quality of the show, whether it will be up to the level of “Band of Brothers” and … Kyle doesn’t want to admit it, but he is looking forward to what the new guy will do.

He’s not even 21 yet? This is just amazing!