Where’s the Smoke Monster when you need it! (The Pacific Part 1)

Part 1: Directed by Tim Van Patten

Starts off with a short narration by the legendary Tom Hanks, i really wasn’t expecting this and it also gives archive footage of the war, which shows it’s based on real events with the main characters representing the real people in the war. Now going into more detail about the leads. Three different set-ups are seen, where Leckie’s father doesn’t talk to him and doesn’t have a great relationship with him. Then there is Basilone who is eating a family meal and they are encouraging him to war and the third is a young adult who cannot go because of a heart defect. It shows Leckie later on with the group of marines and clearly stands out being the intellectual of the group. The 1st lot of marines land onto the island and it’s quiet. Too quiet. Straight away, the detail of the show is incredible, the costumes, the setting, the make-up, everything looks spot on. I love this so far. On the island, the war sequences, well i say war, i mean the fighting, between the Japanese army and the Marines is amazing. Really is. This has gone so quickly and it’s an hour. So far, very pleased with the episode. The connections between the marines are very strong and you can tell that they are in this together. And especially after their stock boat is destroyed. The climax with the gun fight on the creek is a great build and shows that the American Marines means business especially Leckie’s group of men. I’m looking forward to what happens next with the 7th Marines and Basilone who is only briefly shown.

Simon Childs