Talk us through itJohn is a sergeant in the New Zealand Infantry and is preparing to go overseas to a war zone as part of the Kiwi commitment to the United Nations. He has a final night at home, but upsets his sister and mother when he refuses to abide by the customs of his Iwi in preparing for war. John argues that it didn't help his uncle who was a bomber pilot who died in second World War. The next day John boards an army bus ready to rejoin his platoon and possibly to be deployment overseas. During the bus ride the driver tells John it could be a long trip, just how long John is about to discover as finds himself aboard an English bomber header over the channel to attack a target in Germany. The plane is being flown by his Uncle and it's the night of his Uncle's final fatal mission. What awaits John as he learns about his ancestors and their warrior code?
Review"It was April the first 1945. April Fools Day. And my uncle was the fool!" - JohnDirector Michael Bennett starts Going to War well with a flashback scene that will inform the rest of the episode. It's late at night, we can tell this by the use of blue filters and the fact that John's mother Kura as a young girl is sleeping restlessly. Surprisingly blue filters have been used constantly during Mataku to indicate night time, and strangely it works. Kura wakes to flames engulfing her room. She cry's out and as the household adults rush to her room the flames disappear. Kura knows she has seen an omen of the death of her brother Eru, and this is reinforced by a comet crossing the skies over the nearby hills. Bennett doesn't waste time telling us Eru is a bomber pilot in the RAF, we have to pick up on it via a framed photo on Kura's bedside table. I actually didn't realise the time period was 1945 as there were no visual clues and it could have been 1985 as far as the audience is concerned. A strange oversight given the attention to detail the set designers have given to previous episodes of Mataku I've watched. We cut to soldiers training on a beach, and the visual clues are working here as the troops are carrying modern weapons and wearing modern camouflage clothing. Bennett uses some good close-ups and medium shots during this part of the episode. I have to say I thought this scene dragged somewhat as all we really need to know from it is that John is a soldier who is facing deployment overseas to take part in a UN peace keeping mission. The episode starts on the backfoot and but Director Bennett knocks it up a notch in the final act. What Bennett does get right is John arriving home for a final night before deployment. We recognise he belongs to the same family who lost a member during WW2 due to the same farmhouse being promoted in the current shoot and what we now recognise as a prologue piece. Surprisingly the house seems to be the exact same shade of white it was back in 1945, once again a slip on the part of the set designers who needed to age the building in my opinion to really nail things. Through the middle part of the episode Michael Bennett lays down his theme and builds the foundations for the resolution of the conflict. John wants no part in his Iwi's customs, blaming them directly for the death of his Uncle Eru during the 1945 bombing mission. This is at odds with this mother, uncle, and sister who all believe he should accept the customs as they will help him stay safe in the war zone. What does emerge is that the family don't know what happened during Eru's final mission over enemy territory. John believes Eru died trying to retrieve a family heirloom that had become lost in the plane. As we find out later in the episode this is far from the reality of what happened but does explain John's disdain for the old customs, after all they got his Uncle killed. 
In the final act, and this is the part where Going to War achieves quite a large dose of emotional resonance with the audience, John is on an army bus heading back to base, strangely apart from the driver he's the only person on the bus, but minor point. Director Bennett does about the best jump from the normal to the supernatural since Freddy drove the big yellow school bus in the insane A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 to the dark end of town. The bus has hit warp speed, John wakes and wants to get off, there's a flash of white light and suddenly John finds himself on board a bomber commanded by his Uncle in 1945. Bennett achieves a seamless transition here and really nails this part of the episode. We find out what really happened on Eru's last mission and John comes to the realisation of what his family customs truly mean, which I got the impression might be at odds with what his family thinks. Besides a pretty dopey exterior view of the bomber, did someone knock that up on their little brother's commodore 64 (kids ask your parents), the bomber scene is pretty intense. Top marks to Director Bennett for extracting every ounce of emotion he could from the scene, standing ovation time folks. I should mention the episode comes full circle as it winds down in a nice touch from the Director, and there's also a pretty decent haka going down for those interested. Manu Bennett (John) presents a strong leading character and goes at it all wide eyed and bushy tailed. Blair Strang (Uncle Eru) captures that 1940s pilot vibe and runs with it. Vicky Haughton (Kura) can turn on the emotion like a garden hose in mid summer, was digging her work here. Hirini Melbourne provides the traditional Maori instruments, didn't notice them in this episode to be honest, Kipa Royal and Frank Marinthe go all martial with the score to good effect, and Miguel Fuentes provides the drums.
Summary ExecutionGoing to War could of broken down with some lapses in the sets and a few misguided SFX attempts, but Director Bennett rallies the episode late in the day with a pretty emotional final third. I could kind of see where this one was headed, it's a pretty traditional ghost story with a Maori twist, but the getting there was worth the time spent in country. For the first time in an episode of Mataku I didn't learn that much about Maori mythical belief, but guess you can't slot every shot at goal. I'm a sucker for a well constructed ghost story and Going to War delivered the timber and plans nicely.Okay got an email back from Aro, great service from those guys highly recommended online service, and as of writing there are no plans to release season three of Mataku to DVD. The dude I was talking to did state they will stock season three if released. Pretty sad news really as Mataku has been of a pretty high standard through seasons one and two, and a pretty piss poor effort on the part of the Television network. Maybe I can find a legit download option or something. If you like ghost stories with out the laborious false scares that Boredwood seems to want to use then dive on into Going to War. It's nice wholesome family entertainment, with an original Maori twist on a classic trope from the horror tarot pack. It's time to go to war folks.
ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ... Well contained ghost story that combines Maori sensabilities with Western horror stylings.
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