World War II was the defining event of the 20th century. Spanning across all the major continents of the world, it resulted in the victory of the Allied forces led by the US, against what was called the Axis of Evil that included the Nazi thugs, the Italian forces, and a brutal Japanese army whose trademark was its devilish cruelty.

Executive producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, have made The Pacific a highly acclaimed television mini-series that takes a close look at this war and its consequences. Though the war waged in Europe has been over documented over the years, the one in Asia has received scarce attention. The Pacific, which can seen as a companion piece to The Band of Brothers, has done a brilliant job of documenting the travails of young soldiers who fought a cunning enemy, in a remote landscape of The Pacific region.

For the soldiers who fought the war, bravery was often a compulsion for survival. What seemed to them like forgotten, half-hearted endeavors to salvage some honor, amidst the mounting pile of bodies and increasing hunger, were acts of valor for the outside world.
The show is replete with brilliantly executed CGI. It has succeeded in portraying the war, with all its brutality and inhumanity, rather than indulge in some vainglorious flag waving. But of course, there are some mind-blowing action sequences that make the overall experience almost overwhelming.

The Pacific derives from the memoirs of two marines, Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie, and With the Old Breed: At Paleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge. This mini-series delves into the lives of the members of the first Marine Division as they combat the Japanese at places like Okinawa, Guadalcanal, Cape Gloucester and Peleliu. It also features the battle that John Basilone waged in Iwo Jima.

The Pacific is an emotionally draining war drama that portrays all the savageness of war, even as it details the numerous acts of bravery and sacrifice that make it humane.