Blood War is a 2007 American war film written and directed by David Ayer starring Dylan O'Brien, Andrew Garfield, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Charlie Cox, Will SMith, Thomas Kretschmann and Tom Cruise. The film narrates the stories of both American and Soviet troops during World War II against the Axis (Japan and Germany).
Blood War was released on November 16, 2007. The film was acclaimed by critics and was extremely successful at the box office. A spiritual sequel, called Ghost Chronicles, was released in October 30, 2010. A sequel to Ghost Chronicles, Ghost Chronicles 2, was released in December 12, 2014.
Plot[]
The story begins on Makin Island on August 17, 1942. Marine Private Charles Thompson (Dylan O'Brien) watches the torture and execution of a fellow Marine, along with another Marine being beaten by a Japanese soldier. Thompson is rescued by a squad of Marines, led by Corporal Miles Wayne (Anthony Mackie) and Sergeant David Lawton (Tom Cruise) as they assault the island.
Two years later at the beginning of the Battle of Peleliu, after breaking through the Japanese lines on the Peleliu beach, Thompson destroys two Type 97 Chi-Ha tanks with rocket strikes, allowing the American tanks to advance. At the end of the mission, Sergeant Lawton is killed by a Japanese officer with a katana. Wayne, now promoted to Sergeant, and his squad make their way through the Peleliu swamps to launch an assault on a Japanese-held airfield to disable anti-aircraft guns. During the assault, Thompson acquires a flamethrower to destroy a bunker and a bazooka to blow up Japanese tanks.
The film then shifts to the Eastern Front on September 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. Private Igor Ivchenko (Andrew Garfield) regains consciousness in a blood-stained and body-filled fountain, just as German troops execute his surviving comrades. When they leave, Igor meets the injured Sergeant Ivan Petrov (Gary Oldman), another survivor, who tells him of his mission to kill a German SS general named Johann Kriger (Thomas Kretschmann) who is responsible for the massacres. After killing some German soldiers in their way, Igor follows Petrov through buildings and streets and they meet up with the remainder of Igor's unit, who are about to assault the General's communication post. During the assault, Igor manages to kill Krieger as he flees. Igor and Petrov jump into a small canal and escape.
Three years later, during the Battle of the Seelow Heights, near Berlin, Igor has been captured by German soldiers in an abandoned house. He is saved when the Red Army attacks the house and he is re-united with Sergeant Petrov and introduced to his right-hand-man Private Yuri Nevski (Charlie Cox). The Soviet troops advance through German lines and Igor aids them with a Panzerschreck until they reach and wipe out a German camp.
The story then returns to the Pacific Theater. On Peleliu, the Americans are pushing further inland. Thompson and his unit take out enemy mortar crews so their tanks can go inland. They then proceed through the Japanese underground tunnels to attack the artillery-filled Point, one of the major Japanese strongholds that had destroyed many landing boats when they first landed. This allows American ships to advance, and Peleliu finally falls into American hands.
The film then shifts back to Eastern Europe, where Igor and Petrov pilot T-34 tanks pushing through German lines. The Soviet troops then board a train to Berlin. Upon arrival, they engage German soldiers on the outskirts of Berlin, commencing the Battle of Berlin. They then advance through the streets, eventually reaching the entrance to the Berlin U-Bahn, where three German soldiers are attempting to surrender. Petrov is unwilling to deny his men their revenge and gives Igor the choice of determining their method of death: shooting them, or burning them alive with molotov cocktails. They head into the U-Bahn and start fighting German soldiers around the platforms, until a surge of water fills the tunnel and Igor, unable to avoid the oncoming tidal wave, almost drowns.
The story then shifts back to the Pacific during the Battle of Okinawa, where the player becomes Petty Officer Jameson Watts (Will Smith) in a PBY Catalina flying boat, which takes part in a raid on three merchant ships. On their way back to base, another Catalina, codenamed Hammerhead, is destroyed by Japanese Zeroes, leaving Watts and his crew alone. The US fleet is assaulted, replicating Operation Ten-Go. Watts' PBY, the only PBY near enough to come to immediate aid, works to rescue as many American sailors as possible, while fighting off Japanese PT boats and kamikaze planes. With the PBY almost completely destroyed, more US aircraft arrive and drive off the remaining Zeroes.
In another shift, Thompson's squad makes a ground assault on Okinawa. They clear out the Japanese from machine gun bunkers, allowing American tanks to progress. With the battle almost won, the Americans storm Shuri Castle. Once inside, they encounter Japanese soldiers surrendering. However, when Roebuck and Polonsky go to search them, they reveal concealed grenades under their clothes. The remaining American troops arrive to assist the squad and engage the remaining Japanese soldiers in a battle in the castle center. After Thompson calls in air strikes on two buildings, the Americans take Shuri Castle, crushing the last bastion of Japanese resistance in the Pacific War.
In a final shifting, Petrov drags Igor out of the U-Bahn to regroup with Soviet infantry. The Red Army then advances towards the Reichstag. During the assault at the Reichstag's entrance, Nevski is severely burned by a flamethrower, and is implied to be killed. Petrov, Igor, and the remaining Soviet soldiers enter the Reichstag and clear it of its German defenders, and reach the rooftop. After a final showdown on the top floor to reach the Nazi flag, Igor is shot by a dying German soldier in an attempt to stop him from planting the Soviet flag; Petrov kills the German with a machete. Although wounded, Igor manages to plant the Soviet flag (in an allusion to Raising a flag over the Reichstag), signaling Soviet victory and ending the war in Europe.
Cast[]
- Dylan O'Brien as Private Charles Thompson
- Andrew Garfield as Private Igor Ivchenko
- Gary Oldman as Sergeant Ivan Petrov
- Anthony Mackie as Sergeant Miles Wayne
- Tom Cruise as Sergeant David Lawton
- Will Smith as Petty Officer Jameson Watts
- Thomas Kretschmann as General Johann Krieger
- Charlie Cox as Provate Yuri Nevski