Can you believe there are only two parts left? The middle section of the miniseries really picked up and as we go into the homestretch, "Iwo Jima" was yet another incredible hour of television. From the looks of things, next week's episode will be the last one with intense fighting, and the final part will be a cooldown.
The structure of the miniseries doesn't really work with each part going from character to character and from place to place without much focus, and makes everything very episode. Since I review each part individually, they are all great. If I looked at the miniseries as a whole, it's good but not great.
Basilone, who really hasn't been a presence since the second part, came back into focus. He's out selling war bonds and clearly he's tired of what he's doing. His voice is flat, his face is expressionless, and more importantly, he desires to be back in the military, doing what he does best. Basilone knows he's not a salesman. His image sells war bonds, but not Basilone himself. He is stationed a Camp Pendleton where is meets Lena Riggi. Part of why I didn't like his part better than a few of the previous ones was because their relationship was as generic as they come. I'm guessing it was do to historical accuracy, but the writers changed Basilone's death, so why not change up the relationship? Lena goes from not wanting Basilone, becoming friends with him, and then marrying. All in all pretty boring stuff. The acting and dialogue, however, was the one saving grace.
On Iwo Jima, Basilone once again displays his heroics, leading his men against an onslaught of enemies. Sadly, he is shot and killed. As he lay dying, Basilone almost seems to be smiling as men run over him in the thick of battle. The two Marines he originally trained stayed put, following his orders. Basilone becomes an unrecognizable body scattered across the barren earth. In America, he is a celebrity; here, he is just another person, another tragic loss to war.
Score: 9.1/10
