Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel Catch-22 is one of the greatest anti-war satires ever written. With their six-part Hulu miniseries adaptation, George Clooney and Grant Heslov have nailed the anti-war part. The satire? Well, that is the catch. George Clooney and Grant Heslov executive-produced this new version, with each directing a pair of episodes from scripts by Luke Davies and David Michôd. Their depiction of World War II’s Mediterranean theatre, as seen through the eyes of American bombardier John Yossarian, is handsome and appropriately shocking. As Yossarian risks his life on one pointless bombing run after another, the direction, the cinematography and the digital effects make the flights both clear and unnerving. Each mission offers some stunning new horror that will spur Yossarian in his quest to be grounded by any means necessary. Memorable moments from the novel, such as Yossarian’s midair conversation with a wounded new addition to the crew, are a gut punch.
‘Catch-22’ miniseries is better than the novel
Published on: May 16, 2019 10:22 PM