I’ve seen a lot of sports films and I’ve seen a lot of war films, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen a war sports film.
The Mosquito Bowl is directed by Peter Berg, who co-wrote the film alongside Mark L. Smith. The film stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, Tom Francis, and more. Going in, I had heard nothing about it. When I recently looked into what the film was, I didn’t watch a trailer or read a synopsis. I just saw images of war and football and thought this was definitely going to be an interesting one.
Every year around this time, Netflix starts putting a couple of movies in theaters that it plans to push for awards season. This is the first one I was invited to check out in theaters early, ahead of its limited theatrical release starting October 30th and its arrival on Netflix on November 25th. Big thanks to Netflix for inviting me out. I was curious to see how I would feel about this one, especially after hearing it was based on the true stories of people like John McLaughry, Bob Bauman, Tony Butkovich, Dave Schreiner, and more. I went in not knowing their stories.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, four of America’s standout college football players put their athletic careers aside to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. As they undergo military training and prepare for the invasion of Okinawa during World War II, they take part in a legendary football game that offers a brief return to their former lives before the brutal realities of war take hold.
I’ll start by saying that I enjoyed my time with The Mosquito Bowl, but I wanted to like it a lot more. There are some big positives, but there are also elements I just wasn’t as in love with. I should also mention that when the movie ended, people around me were talking about how intense it was, and I was struggling to feel the same emotion. So I don’t think this will be a blanket feeling across the board. I even checked Letterboxd afterward, and there’s already a wide array of opinions, with some people giving it two and a half to three stars and others giving it five. For me, it was easily not a five-star film, but I also didn’t dislike it.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t tell the stories of these incredible people who gave their lives in a war that took 75 million lives. We should celebrate these stories and every kind of story. But there’s a part of me that feels this would have been better as a documentary. I like the story being told to us. It’s just that, as a cinematic movie, the way it’s told was just okay in some places, while being harrowing and well done in a lot of others.
Starting with the positives, this is a very well-acted film that creates a great sense of camaraderie. What I liked about these guys is that you get to see the journey of cocky, egotistical, but fun and loving football players who are great at what they do. They go in thinking they’re going to volunteer, kick some ass, and come home, only to get there and realize the unfortunate reality of it all. They see their brothers die around them and have to hold on to any semblance of who they are.
Like the best war films, this one highlights not only the disparity of war but also the reality that so many people are thrown in as pawns on both sides. We see that with both the American and Japanese troops. Many of them are fearful and fighting for their lives, ultimately becoming lost in a senseless need for violence just to keep a war going. It’s something war films and documentaries highlight all the time, and this film does it well, elevated by a fantastic cast.
As a period piece, the film does a great job with its costume design, hair, makeup, set design, vehicles, and filming locations. There’s great use of practical effects from top to bottom, and it’s a very well-made film visually. I also enjoyed the cinematography in a lot of ways, though I do have some gripes. For the most part, the color palette is bleak and muted, fitting the tone of the film and the reality our characters are facing. Overall, you have a good-looking film.
The sound design was great as well, and I enjoyed the musical score. The film balances being harrowing and scary at times, inspiring in other moments, and, of course, very emotional. It ends with an in memoriam for the people we just watched this movie about, leaving you on an emotional note. It’s impossible to watch a film like this and hear about people who went through these experiences without feeling for them and the people in their lives, and respecting the bravery they showed. The film leaves you with a lot of respect for what these men did.
I also enjoyed the Mosquito Bowl itself, even though it’s a brief part of the film. These guys were college football players with huge careers ahead of them who chose to go to war, and then, between battles, put on a football game at the military base that let them experience a little joy again before heading into the film’s climactic fight. That was fascinating. A documentary could have expanded on that experience, given us more insight into how it came together, and let us get to know the people involved before the game. Despite that, I enjoyed that portion of the film, though I wish it had been a bigger part of the movie.
Overall, you have a well-acted, good-looking, and good-sounding film with a fantastic score, and the actors are what make it work on an emotional level. There are some shocking moments of violence in the war sequences that feel big, harrowing, and grounded, and they’re obviously scary for anybody who would find themselves in that situation.
With all that said, I found myself torn narratively. One term I don’t like to use much in reviews is “boring,” because it creates the perception that I only like fast-paced films, even though I’ve reviewed countless slower-paced films I’ve enjoyed. People will assume it means you just want a Marvel movie, and that’s simply not the case. But this film was a little boring at times.
The way the film was structured didn’t make me feel emotionally attached to the characters in any deeper, meaningful way. I’m being told this is a true story, it ends with an in memoriam, and it’s clearly a harrowing situation. The sympathetic part of my mind and heart is, of course, going to feel for these people. But watching it as a movie, as a story, and as a cinematic event, I found the first act a little fragmented.
We’re introduced to the characters, they go off to war, and they’re put into harrowing situations, but I never felt connected to them. It felt like we were just spending time with these characters while things were happening. There are downtime moments that let us see them a little more, especially when they reflect on their time as football players, but something about it left me feeling disconnected.
By the end, I didn’t feel like I had spent enough time with these characters, or that there had been much character work at all. That’s why a documentary felt like the better fit, one where you could get to know who these people were, see real photos of them, and learn more about their lives.
Sometimes the movie takes the approach of getting them to war, getting them to the next location, and giving you the CliffsNotes. That’s not to say none of the characters have personality. The cast does a good job of bringing that out. But the way the first act was built made it far less engaging than it should have been.
My interest picked up when we got to the Mosquito Bowl in the second act, but it’s short-lived. It’s just, “Hey, we’re going to do this,” and they do it quickly before we move on to the third act and the movie comes to an end. As a story, it didn’t create a deeply connective piece of cinema for me.
I wish I had felt more connected to what I was watching, beyond my mind telling me, “This is based on a true story, and people really went through this.” The movie didn’t take me on that journey the way a documentary might have, or perhaps even the book this film is based on.
As for my cinematography gripes, the shots during the war sequences are often so close to the actors that we don’t get a sense of the scale of the war or the fear the men were feeling. There are moments with a lot of gunfire, but the camera stays right up on the actor. We don’t get those great sweeping shots war films are traditionally known for, and that was a bit of a bummer.
The color grading was also way too dark at times. I saw this on the big screen in a pitch-black theater, and a couple of sequences were so dark that I thought, man, these guys are practically shadows. Anybody watching at home during the day on Netflix, with even the slightest glare coming through a window, might have trouble seeing some of these scenes. It’s not a lot of scenes, but it’s worth mentioning.
Still, I did enjoy The Mosquito Bowl. I just didn’t love it. It’s not among the best war films, but am I really complaining that they told the story of this harrowing situation real people lived through? Not at all. I just wish the film had made me feel more connected to their journey.
It’s not one of the best films I’ve seen this year or one of the best war films of recent years. It’s very well acted and well made, and I was impressed by a lot of the filmmaking and performances, but the way the story is structured left me wanting more on a character and story level.
Rating: 6.5/10