The show is OK, nothing more. Definitely not as good as BoB. Main problems I got with it:
* Marine subculture not portrayed. The characters behave just like every generic military unit. Nice chaps and all, but could as well be Army or Coast Guard.
* Characters lack depth. Contrary to BoB it's hard to keep track who's who and care for them. Not a good sign for a movie or show. I also don't understand the NCO-focus they chose. Ain't worked out in the series what the distinct perspective of Marine NCOs was.
* Clichés: Japanese soldier pretending surrender and then killing himself and captors with a hidden hand grenade, incompetent subalterns, hardy privates and NCOs saving the day, ... Generally the portrayal of combat is shallow and sanitized. Hardly a feel for the special military culture of the Japanese enemy. In BoB the Germans felt, well, "germanlike".
* Acting skills not up to the task: In Pt. 2 the guys just don't look and behave like men who were through jungle hell and ate their belts. More like chaps who got dirty on a weekend National Guard maneuver. Maybe they should have resorted to method acting.
Generally this feels like a glossed over half covered for modesty version of WW2 in the Pacific, maybe because they wanted to make it a show for the whole family and not just for the guys. WW2 for Mom and the little sisters, so to speak. It would have done the show more service, had they gone realistic, gritty and gore. Or focused the whole show on a single battle or campaign and elaborated deeply on that. As is it's WW2 in the Pacific on fast forward.
* Marine subculture not portrayed. The characters behave just like every generic military unit. Nice chaps and all, but could as well be Army or Coast Guard.
* Characters lack depth. Contrary to BoB it's hard to keep track who's who and care for them. Not a good sign for a movie or show. I also don't understand the NCO-focus they chose. Ain't worked out in the series what the distinct perspective of Marine NCOs was.
* Clichés: Japanese soldier pretending surrender and then killing himself and captors with a hidden hand grenade, incompetent subalterns, hardy privates and NCOs saving the day, ... Generally the portrayal of combat is shallow and sanitized. Hardly a feel for the special military culture of the Japanese enemy. In BoB the Germans felt, well, "germanlike".
* Acting skills not up to the task: In Pt. 2 the guys just don't look and behave like men who were through jungle hell and ate their belts. More like chaps who got dirty on a weekend National Guard maneuver. Maybe they should have resorted to method acting.
Generally this feels like a glossed over half covered for modesty version of WW2 in the Pacific, maybe because they wanted to make it a show for the whole family and not just for the guys. WW2 for Mom and the little sisters, so to speak. It would have done the show more service, had they gone realistic, gritty and gore. Or focused the whole show on a single battle or campaign and elaborated deeply on that. As is it's WW2 in the Pacific on fast forward.