World War II with Tom Hanks review – one of the largest documentaries in human history

This 20-episode take on the second world war, helmed by the Saving Private Ryan star, is a vast creation. But it still manages to wind up feeling basic – despite its great archive footage World War II with Tom Hanks opens with a sales pitch, for World War II, by Tom Hanks. “The second world war,” says he, eyeballing us in medium closeup with calm paternal authority, “is the largest event in human history. No part of the globe is unaffected. The second world war changed everything. For all of ...

By Jack Seale