War is dangerous and scary as hell. We didn’t need “The Hurt Locker” to know that, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded again and again.

HBO is doing its part with the miniseries “The Pacific.” It is produced by the same team that made HBO’s brilliant World War II series “Band of Brothers” in 2001 and follows the same realistic formula used to detail the war in Europe. Based on the true stories of Marines— including two men who wrote books about their experiences—the 10-part series premieres at 9 p. m. Sunday on the pay-cable channel.

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Three and a half stars (Out of four)

The Pacific

9 p.m. Sunday, HBO

A cast of mostly little-known actors plays young Marines of the greatest generation who fight the Japanese in the Pacific jungles after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Several of the little-known actors in “Band of Brothers”— including Neal McDonough (“Boomtown”), Damian Lewis (“Life”), Michael Cudlitz (“Southland”), Jason O’Mara (“Life on Mars”) and Ron Livingston (“Standoff”)—eventually got network series, and there’s no reason to think it won’t happen with this cast.

The most recognizable face in “The Pacific” may be William Sadler, the veteran character actor from Hamburg who worked with “Pacific” producer Tom Hanks on “The Green Mile.” Sadler gives Western New Yorkers an extra reason to watch, playing a legendary, pipe-smoking lieutenant colonel, Lewis “Chesty” Puller, who leads with pep talks, praise and preparation.

Another familiar face is Jon Seda, the former “Homicide” star who plays Sgt. John Basilone, one of the three Marines followed throughout the series. He is a machine gunner who tries to keep members of the 1st Marine Division alive against overwhelming obstacles.

Fans of Fox’s “24” may also recognize James Badge Dale, who was Jack Bauer’s partner in Season Three and the boyfriend of Jack’s daughter, Kim. He plays Pfc. Robert Leckie, another of the three main characters. He is a Marine machine gunner and newspaperman who is an eyewitness to history. The series is partly based on his book, “Helmet for My Pillow.”

The third Marine followed through 10 episodes is Eugene B. Sledge (Joe Mazzello), a physician’s son who initially was prevented from enlisting because of a heart murmur. The series also is partly based on one of Sledge’s books, “With the Old Breed.”

In the first two episodes, with a high casualty count and an evocative music score by Hans Zimmer, “The Pacific” graphically details the heroism of the Marines who fight in the jungles against a surprisingly determined enemy that seems unconcerned about survival.

At times, the film’s darkness makes it difficult to follow what is going on. But the messages are clear: War is hell on several fronts, including emotional and physical; being in the service is a brotherhood that is hard for those who haven’t experienced it to fully understand; the enemy is human, too, and has wives, mothers and children; and sometimes Marines have to do distasteful and disturbing things to survive.

Plenty can be learned from watching this series, which follows Marines across the Pacific Theater, including stops at Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Sadler is the son of 87-year-old World War II Army veteran William J. Sadler, who fought in the Philippines and was recently given the Distinguished Service Medal.

“I actually thought because my father fought in the Philippines and my Uncle Jack Colley was at Guadalcanal, I knew a fair amount about the war in the Pacific,” said Sadler. But, he said, he knew nothing about his legendary character beforehand and was “blown away” while doing research about the war.

“I was truly amazed and had a whole new respect for what they did,” said Sadler.

When he was told by his agent that Hanks and producer Steven Spielberg wanted him to play Puller, Sadler’s first thought was “Who?” “I had never heard the name,” said Sadler. “It sounds like it should be a lap-dancing stripper or something. The more I read about Chesty, he is just an astonishing guy. To this day, he is the most revered Marine who ever wore the uniform. You ask any Marine alive ‘Who is Chesty Puller?’ and they’ll go on for half an hour about his exploits.”

Sadler could go on that long talking about the dedication of everyone in the production.

“The mantra was, ‘We’ve got to get this right,’ ” said Sadler. “This is my father’s story, this is your father’s story, and it’s never really been told in this kind of detail or on a scale like this. I felt a tremendous responsibility. When we were filming I kept running into Marines and I told them I was playing Chesty Puller and they said, ‘You better get it right.’ ”

Sadler said one of the things that the miniseries — which was filmed almost two years ago in Australia — drives home is how young the Marines were when they were thrown into action against a veteran Japanese military.

“They were 18-, 19-year-old kids,” said Sadler. “They hadn’t even been out of high school. And a few months of training and they’re carrying weapons and facing a (Japanese) army that has been fighting a war for five years. They’d been taking island after island. Manchuria, invading China, they were bombing Australia when we got into it. They were on the move. And nobody could stop this steamroller.

“The other thing that was interesting was [the Japanese] fought to the death. There was no such thing as surrender. The war in Europe, you’ll see 200 German captured soldiers with their hands up marching down a road. There weren’t any [Japanese surrendering] in the Pacific.”

Sadler is proud of the work, saying, “If it isn’t No. 1 [in his career], it is right up there.” He hopes the miniseries will do his father (who lives in Hamburg) and his generation proud.

“I hope when he watches it, he recognizes the amount of care and attention to detail and passion that this group of filmmakers and producers and performers put into this thing,” said Sadler. “I genuinely hope my dad watches it and says, ‘That’s what it was like. That’s what it felt like. That’s what it looked like. You got it.’

“If that’s the case, I will feel we’ve done that generation a service that needed to be done. A thank you for what they went through.”