Destination Tokyo (1943)

Talky and Overlong WWII Submarine Movie that was Made in the Middle of the War and is Heavy on Sentimentality and Propaganda. These Sub Crew Members are Cut out of All Stripes from the American Flag and make No Bones about Speechifying and in One Case, John Garfield, Extreme Braggadocio about Babes.Cary Grant Plays Against Type as a Super Serious Commander with Nerves of Steel and a Countenance of Concrete. The Overbaked Story is Ludicrous but Entertaining as the Sub Slips into Tokyo Harbor Unimpeded. The Battle Ensues on the Way Home and the Climax is Bombastic and Filmed with some Gravitas and Impressive Detail.The Failings in the Film are the Flashbacks, Religiosity, and Norman Rockwell Portraits of these Patriots, plus the Enormous Length. This Type of Heavy Handedness is best Served in Small Doses. But Patient Viewers and Gung-Ho Types will get Their Rewards and it can be Satisfying and Enjoyable if Viewed in Context.

Destination Tokyo is big slap in the face for those who died in the Pacific War.Yet again, Hollywood rewrites history to make it look like America alone won the Second World War! This really is an awful movie that spectacularly distorts the history of the Battle of the Pacific (just as U-571 distorts the history of the Battle of the Atlantic) and, as a proud Briton, I find it downright insulting to my nation and it's efforts during the Second World War. Britain didn't need America's help. We had everything under control, thanks to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's peace treaty he personally negotiated with Herr Hitler. But no, America had to interfere. All we had to do is sign a peace treaty with Tokyo, too, and there would have been no war. But America couldn't leave well enough alone.Destination Tokyo is filled with historical inaccuracies, and totally ignores even the basic historical facts concerning the true story of the War. And with all of the other factual errors, distortions, and cultural stereotypes, this is about as far from being even a semi-accurate depiction of the war at sea as you will ever get.Das Boot sets the standard by which all submarine movies are judged. And Destination Tokyo is just another second rate Hollywood knockoff of Das Boot, like U-571 (see my review of U-571). It has to be criticized that they tried to copy the German film, which was so successful, with the difference that the heroes are Americans. What's wrong with having Germans or the Japanese being the heroes, Yanks? They fought, too, you know! It's not just all about you, America. If you want a movie that has no basis in reality and just panders to national stereotypes and American patriotic jingoism, then you'll probably enjoy this movie - Just remember that what you are watching is complete fiction and not in any way a representation of true history. However, if you want something that accurately depicts submarine warfare during the Second World War, you'd be far better advised to watch Das Boot instead.The CGI effects are pretty lame, too. They were made in black and white. I guess they are trying to pretend this film was made during the Second World War. Spoiler alert:Britain defeated Japan and won the Second World War.

This engrossing film takes place on a submarine bound for Japan to do a lot of damage. It primarily deals with the personnel on board. Led by Cary Grant, a tough, but real family man, this film goes on to explain various situations, including an emergency appendectomy done by a pharmacist on board the ship.John Garfield, as Wolfie, steals the show. He always talks of his adventures with women. In one scene, he talks about this with the music of Cole Porter's "Night and Day" as a backdrop. Ironically, Cary Grant is not in the scene. Two years later Cary was in a major biographical-picture with that title about the great Porter.Garfield and his guys do their work on land quickly to deliver valuable information that will aid in the bombing. That bombing as well as the bombing that the sub is subjected to is very realistically done.Grant talks of something that we can relate to today. He speaks of young Japanese children being taught at a young age to hate. It's so many years later and we hear the same thing about young Palestinians. War comes from hatred.

First, to all who feel the film was wrong to be used as a propaganda tool portraying the Japanese as villains, terrorists or worse, while the USA was (is) without sin, please use ALL of history as a benchmark. At the time the film was made the Japanese military had committed far more atrocities than the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. They had invaded China unprovoked, indiscriminately bombed population centers of major Chinese cities and raped, tortured and killed a large population of Nanking, the Chinese capital city. This compares with the German march through Eastern Europe at the same time, combined with the Holocaust as well as the unprovoked Italian conquest of Abysinnia (Ethiopia) in the 1930's. When Jimmy Doolittle's bomb group left the Hornet, they didn't fly in formation, nor arrive over Tokyo in formation. They were forced to leave the Hornet approximately 200 miles sooner than originally planned, due to being detected by a Japanese picket patrol, which the task force sunk. Once Doolittle's plane was airborne it headed for Japan with the remainder of the group following behind at approximately 1 to 2 minute intervals. The film shows the entire bomb group in formation after leaving the Hornet and arriving the same way over Tokyo. In spite of this, and being a bit corny by today's standards, a wonderful tribute to many, many men and woman who made incredible sacrifices ensuring victory in WWII.