How do you know the action scenes were unrealistic?
The truth is often far more strange and unbelievable than fiction.
I wonder what it was like when all 15 torpedo bombers were shot down in their first approach on the carriers. It was probably pretty close to how they depicted it. Also, not a whole lot of time for emotion when your wingman goes but your next, within a few seconds.
I think we have become accustomed to dumbed down versions of war that only until recently video games and CGI movies have allowed us to envision. The carnage of WWII air battles has yet to be depicted well. This is a step.