The Pacific: Season 1
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Mar 14, 2010
  • Season #: 1
User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 138 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 117 out of 138
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 138
  3. Negative: 7 out of 138

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  1. RandyP
    Apr 6, 2010
    8
    I was hyped for this series, huge fan of B.O.B you felt a connection with the cast and vets that were interviewed, but with the pacific i feel its not indepth and lacks any means of connection to the characters, am i the only one who feels the same? cinamatics are phnomanal but i just dont buy the characters, sorry.
  2. lanceb
    Apr 12, 2010
    8
    I'm not quite enjoying the series (still ongoing) as much as I did Band of Brothers (which was perfect as far as I'm concerned), but The Pacific has still been quite a joyride.
  3. bobm
    Apr 12, 2010
    8
    Not as good as band of brothers as the stroyline is alot more harder to follow in the pacific. War scenes done incredibly well again as you would expect really of hanks and speilzberg. The general idear of the history of the pacfic warfare is portaryed very well, however the lack of outstanding acting as portrayed in band of brothers and the amazing dialougue the characters had in terms of how they bonded and bounced off each other which the pacfic fails to supply. In conclusion the series is still a remarkable effort by HBO and a powerful drama as the war scenes are rightfully shown in gory detail in how the the pacific was thought and how the veterans are regarded as heroes in our eyes.… Expand
  4. Arimack
    Apr 7, 2010
    6
    I so wanted to like this series. I own Band of Brothers and have read Sledge's book on which part of the series is based. Unfortunately is is clear early on that this is not in the same league as BoB. The issue comes not from the technical aspects of the series which if anything surpass some of BoB's best scenes. What is missing is the ensemble cast that flow thru the series and are ever present even when they are not the focus of the episode. I grew to care deeply about the ensemble of BoB. I am having a great deal of difficulty following even the leads in the Pacific. The ensemble supporting them is almost lost with little back story on any of them. That is where the Pacific fails. It does not follow a group who came together and fought across the war together. It follows three individuals, separately, as they struggle in the vast Pacific. The fact that they have to open each episode with a narrative of what is going on in the war, also shows the lack of a clear driving story behind the whole production. Sad because I so wanted to like this series. I will watch the whole thing...but I will not be happy about it.… Expand
  5. MichaelB
    Mar 28, 2010
    4
    One single omission speaks volumes why the Pacific simply does not work.The most critical battle of the entire Pacific Campaign is not mentioned that being the Battle of Midway which put the Japanese on the defensive, losing 4 aircraft carriers. Without that epic victory Guadalcanal could never have been attempted. On virtually every level- acting, direction, editing and particularly writing- The Pacific is substantially inferior to A Band of Brothers. The Battle of Guadalcanal was incoherently told at best. As for the Australia R&R episode please, this was stale and boring, lifted from a few hundred earlier war films. All in all a major disappointment.… Expand
  6. steven
    Aug 31, 2010
    4
    I had such high hopes for The Pacific after having watched Band of Brothers. I expected an intertwining storyline moving in a linear manner with high drama and a soulful look at the changes a man goes through living and fighting in a hellish war. What I received was an incoherent jumble of storylines mixing like oil and water with a love story inserted as a change of pace. Disappointing to say the least.… Expand
  7. MarcDoyle
    Aug 7, 2010
    7
    Band of Brothers is clearly a very tough act to follow. The Pacific is not nearly as good, in part because it follows three different "lead characters", and you don't get that intimate connection that you did with the company in BoB. For some reason, I was also more interested in the stories told by the actual vets in BoB. But beyond just the entertainment value, these are amazing individuals who put their lives on the line for the rest of us. I appreciate the historical document.… Expand
  8. meh
    Aug 11, 2010
    5
    The Pacific is a ringing endorsement for meh. Not as riveting as its predecessor, Band of Brothers, but better than most war movies. Having to condense the entirety of the Pacific War into 10 episodes was too much in my opinion. Also, the jumping POV between the various characters made it difficult to follow.
  9. RelaxingKyle
    Aug 11, 2010
    10
    Fantastic, mainly for one reason: It's an original war story. It strays away from only showcasing the action in the war and spends time focusing on the characters in it and their journeys throughout the war.
  10. KundK
    Aug 28, 2010
    6
    Technically perfect, but more disjointed and much less engaging than the fantastic Band of Brothers. I could not make myself care for any of the characters and that kills everything, even the will to finish watching the last two episodes. It seems the story would function better if they ditched the idea of following the books and made a cast of composite characters (still true) who would be with us all the way.… Expand
  11. gamefriek
    Sep 7, 2010
    9
    This is probably one of the best mini-series ever created, for the simple fact that it is a very powerful series. Not only does it tell about the war, but it also tells about the lives of the men.
  12. Acriminal
    Aug 22, 2010
    5
    The Pacific is definitely not Band of Brothers. The stories all seem separate from eachother and are rather dull. There is no spark between any of the characters. The battle scenes are amazing but I just didn't get gripped by the story like I did when watching Band of Brothers. Really the best part of the show was the opening theme song, and even that wasn't as good as what they had for Band of Brothers. I was excited about The Pacific for a long time, but I had hoped for much better.… Expand
  13. abulafia
    Sep 9, 2010
    3
    Not interesting at all. Characters are boring cliches. Fights are so dark and poorly displayed that you wont see anything. The different fights are barely connected by background personal stories that are soooooo booooooring. A politically correct vision of the war at the pacific. Close to nationalist propaganda.
  14. hdosorio
    Apr 19, 2011
    9
    Hemos visto muchas series y películas de la segunda guerra mundial enfocadas en los eventos desarrollados en Europa, esta serie nos trae una imagen sorprendente y veraz de lo sucedido en el Pacífico entre Estados Unidos y Japon. Buen guíon, buenas actuaciones, espectacular montaje, vale la pena. Un buen complemento a esta serie es ver la película Letters from Iwo Jima… Expand
  15. Ravenous
    Nov 6, 2010
    5
    The fact is that the Pacific is not even close to being as good as Band of Brothers. For starters, the focus on the characters in The Pacific is disjointed and somewhat haphazard, resulting in the overall story itself lacking any feeling of cohesion, at least for the entire first half of the series. Secondly, aside from Sledge, the characters just aren't all that interesting, and the half-baked attempts to show the families on the homefront falls completely flat. I was bored for the first several episodes, at least until they get to Peleliu. In sharp contrast with Band of Brothers, the audience simply doesn't have enough time to really get to know the characters and their stories, and the fact that the episodes themselves are shorter than those in B.o.B. only makes this problem worse. Overall, The Pacific is just plain disappointing. Do yourself a favor, read Sledge's book 'With the Old Breed' instead... best World War II novel ever written (makes the Naked and the Dead seem lazy and unrealistic in comparison).… Expand
  16. hugosel
    Jan 17, 2011
    8
    Top-class entertainment that synthesizes all that's good about Hollywood. Stunning acting performances, superb dialogue and a well-written plot (with some minor exceptions, hence 9 instead of 10 for me)...and the score by Hans Zimmer is splendid!
  17. arora
    May 24, 2011
    9
    test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review test review
  18. g3a9j7
    Apr 19, 2012
    10
    Very powerful and moving series. Yes it lacks the character focus of BoB but that wasn't the point of the Pacific. No other war related movie or series comes close to showing the first person experience of battle and the toll it takes on everyone like this one. The Pacific's main focus was on the personal experiences of its characters and how it affected and changed them in a very dramatic and terrible way. Because of this its very dark and ominous. The cheerful reverence and respect to veterans that BoB gave is replaced by the dark, haunting feelings and experiences that would stay with the characters for the remainder of their lives. Viewers will really begin to understand why ww2 vets never liked talking about their experiences in battle and how it permanently changed their lives for the worse and those with similar experiences will understand very strongly what they're attempting to portray. Basically the Pacific says "war is hell" and it will haunt you for the rest of your life. The music plays a key role in depicting the feelings they experienced. So if you want to see through all the praise and hoopla given to war vets marching to "To the halls of Montezuma..." and see it all through their eyes I would recommend nothing other than this series. You will see how in the end every single one of them who experienced battle and survived had still in a way sacrificed their lives. They lost they're ability to live a normal life and had it replaced with one haunted by their past. In the end you will respect them so much more for what they did.… Expand
  19. recon292
    Jan 8, 2013
    2
    Bad acting, great special effects, and the story of the Marines in the Pacific Theater could be told by 5th graders and still be fascinating. However, and for whatever reason, the director decided to make the characters so cliche and the writers went waaay out of their way to try to exclude or minimize everything Army, and if that wasn't good enough, decided they needed to throw in a few poorly written jabs as well. Obviously done in poor taste and there's not enough story to hold the narrative together as the characters get lost in the jumble and then sweeping boring lulls. Skip this one, stick to Band of Brothers.… Expand
  20. Brosman
    May 29, 2013
    10
    When this show first got announced, I knew Band of Brothers would be something very tough to surpass. Although the Pacific isn't better than BoB its is still an incredible movie/show to watch. On its own accord this film is great and is easily one of my favorite movie/shows of all time.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
  1. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    91
    By dramatizing the true stories of the men who fought there, Spielberg and Hanks craft perhaps their most psychologically grounded work.
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  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Maureen Ryan
    100
    Certain moments may verge on cliche (and once in a while, the dialogue is a little corny), but overall, The Pacific is crafted and acted with such loving devotion that it's hard to find fault with its sincerity and sentimental forays.
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  3. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    83
    The Pacific has both grand scale and intimacy. It builds in intensity as the series proceeds.
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