The Mosquito Bowl the Last Chance to Play Before Combat

John M. Delia Jr

5 minutes ago

3 min read

This film is based on the many heroes that sacrificed their lives to defend our country during World War II and the involvement of the many bloody confrontations they endured. During the battle of Okinawa, the United States was engrossed in a violent entanglement that claimed many lives and was considered one of the costliest events in the Pacific theater for both sides of the war. There were events in between the combat from both sides, the US launched its famous USO camp shows which they used to try and find ways to help the soldiers relax and unwind. For some this was not enough, and it showed in the morale of the troops. It was finally decided that a contest will be played between the platoons, that involved sixty-five men, most were former college athletes who were itching to have a chance to compete once more.

After the 1941 game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Purdue Boilermakers, four stars decided to join the Marines in the wake of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th. During the event, All-American Tony Butkovich (Ray Nicholson), Purdue Running Back is about to break his school's touchdown record as he faces off against All-Americans from Wisconsin Bob Baumann (Bill Skarsgård), defensive tackle, and Dave Schreiner (Tom Francis), defensive end. In an attempt to create a lasting memory for his school, Tony calls out his rivals Dave and Bob encouraging them to give him their best as he sets the record. But Dave is determined to not allow Tony to get that record against his defense and responds with a negative remark. Later, after the match these three find out they all chose to defend their country.

When these three men arrived for training at Parris Island in June of 1942, they came across another former All-American John McLaughry (Nicholas Galitzine), Brown Quarterback and Fullback. Starting to see a theme, they begin to establish a bond that will guide them through what they will face when they reach the Pacific. Later during their tour all four heroes run into All-American George Murphy (Brent Comer), Notre Dame offensive right end and instantly get along. Leading up to the Mosquito Bowl football clash that was played December 24, 1944, between two regiments of Marines at Guadalcanal during World War II.

Based on the novel, The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II by Buzz Bissinger, the film runs through the events that led up to the battle of Okinawa, director, writer and actor, Peter Berg (General Buckner), does an excellent job bringing this well-presented story, that truly shown the heroism of these football stars. He includes many details that help develop the story but does give off the feel that much was missing making it seem more like a docustory (a hybrid format combining the factual, documentary style of a documentary with the narrative and storytelling elements of a story). Peter does include outstanding and realistic special effects and makeup during the fighting scenes that help you feel like you are right there with these brave soldiers. The performance from the cast was spectacular as they displayed a wonderful rendition of their personalities as they went through this horrible experience.

After researching some of the stories, not everything lined up in this narrative. The characters and their history of bravery and football was fairly close, but when they played football, who they faced during the game, and when they joined the service was not quite exact. Having to blend the facts together Peter Berg dealt with some of the inaccuracies in a way to help create a bond between these players. Still a fantastic motion picture worth seeing on the big screen, even though it will be released to Netflix in late November.