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Pearl Harbor (Vista Series Director's Cut)

Pearl Harbor (Vista Series Director's Cut)

List Price: $39.99
Your Price: $35.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The worst waste of 3 hours [I have] ever suffered through
Review: If I hadn't gotten in for free, I'd have been that much more disappointed--this movie is [bad]. With the exception of a nice chunk in the middle where they blow all manner of men and machinery to [heck], I was thoroughly dissatisfied, hoping that when said death from above arrived, it would take all of the main characters and their sappy dialogue down as well. At least an hour of theatrical posing, stale Disnified romance, and overwrought drama could have been left on the cutting room floor.

Also, this movie made me wish I was French. That's how nauseatingly patriotic it is.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Pearl Harbor
Review: This movie was pitiful. If you're a history buff you'll go see it, expect to be disappointed. This is not the definitive movie on Pearl Harbor. The love story, characters and plot were shallow and uninvolving. It actually tells the viewer very little about the facts of the Pearl Harbor attack. For a quick background on the attack read Lord's Day of Infamy before seeing the movie. Its a shame the film makers could have made a great tribute to those who lived through or died during the attack. Or they could have made an epic love story. They did neither.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: An Excellent Mediocre Movie
Review: First, a warning to anyone who does not like long movies. Pearl Harbor is over 3 hours long. The plot of Pearl Horbor concerns a fictitious love story set against the real life bombing of Pearl Harbor on Decembber 7th, 1941. Aviators Ben Affleck and Josh Barnett, friends since childhood, fall in love with the same woman, a nurse portrayed by Kate Beckinsale. The first hour and a half of the film develops the relationships between these characters. The plot of this love story was paper thin. The aforementioned love story was pretentious and predictable. The only compelling character was real life hero Dorie Miller, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. Gooding's role was merely a glorified cameo. It's a shame that screenwriter Randall Wallace did not focus more of the story on him. I found myself in the odd position of eagerly awaiting the bombing of Pearl Harbor to begin so I could have my state of ennui relieved. However, once the bombing starts, this is where the movie begins to shine. The Pearl Harbor attack sequence ran for at least 45 minutes and was extremely exciting. The special effects were outstanding. Industrial Light and Magic has triumphed once again. It was impossible for me to distinguish the computer animated effects from the live action special effects. Director Michael Bay does for the Pearl Harbor attack what Steven Spielberg did for the D-Day invasion in the film Saving Private Ryan. Pearl Harbor is definitely worth seeing for the verisimilitude and exhilaration of its action sequences.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: pearl harbor
Review: Pearl Harbor is an inspiring film, and was excelent. It is filmed very well and no matter where you sit the sound, the picture, all makes it feel as though you are in the movie just sitting on the side watching. I've seen many films, but this is the first I've ever cried in. It was amazing!!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: great action, horrible writing
Review: It's impossible to watch 'Pearl Harbor' without constantly comparing it to 'Titanic' because the two are so similar- three hours in length, a story of historical importance padded by a fictional love story. However, 'Titanic', as over-saturated as it was, was so much more moving. The love story in 'Pearl Harbor' was so... cliche. It seemed to exist apart from the actual event of the bombing of Pearl Harbor- the film almost used the bombing as a dramatic device to further the love story.

Why do all the Bruckheimer/Bay films have to have such terrible writing and characters? Ben Affleck's character was all good 'ol southern swagger, and after about 10 minutes it became hard to watch. Kate Beckinsale was pretty similar, playing a pristine nurse. When they were torn apart at one point in the film, I barely registered an emotional response. Much like 'Armageddon', the writing in this movie made me constantly cringe and snicker, it was that bad. But no one is going to see it for the love story- they are going to see it for the 45 minute bombing sequence. And that was incredible.

I can't help but wish they had just focused the film on the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and the suicide mission just after that brought the US into the war. That would have been such a better film. There was no coverage of *why* the Japanese attacked the US and the situation around the world before the US began sending men to Britain to assist. Thank God they managed to avoid the Japanese stereotypes that existed right before the war- when I was studying film, we saw this film called 'Fight the Enemy: Japan' and it was horrid. It was an actual military film that tried to rally the Americans for their fight with Japan. I was really scared that 'Pearl Harbor' might touch on the attitudes of that time.

I would have liked the film much more if it were a historical epic, but I think it's worth seeing. I don't know how it will translate onto small screens... I doubt I'll buy the DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome!!
Review: ...I think this is one of the best movies made to date. The love story is sappy and sweet,(and sometimes pretty funny!) and the war scenes and special effects are incredible to watch. Though it was pretty intense,.... it had some lighthearted scenes in it too. Anyone will love this movie. Both young or old, male or female!!(it's not a chick-flick, or a "guy movie" it's a nice combo of both) so go see it! You're in for a treat!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Most enjoyable
Review: Ben Affleck is a hunk! What else can i say......ever since Armageddon all I do is dream of him. He plays his role in Pearl Harbor perfectly. This movie is a must see.....Ben Affleck in uniform, thats all I needed to see.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pearl Harbor Review
Review: I thought this movie was great! There was enough action and drama to keep my interest during this 3+ hour movie. I heard mixed reviews about the movie and was glad that I decided to go anyway. Although I was a weeping mess by the time the movie was over I still loved it. I felt like I was relieveing the day that I saw Titanic for the first time.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nice but mushy
Review: graphics-good acting-good love story- questionable

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Some things are best left unseen.
Review: Hello, thanks you for taking the time to read this review. I tend to keep my review on the lighter side of things, but tonight I'm going to be serious for a minute. I am just back from viewing this film and let me start by saying this film is not the greatest film ever made yet not as horrific as the reviewers would have you believe. I have some praise for the film, some disdain, and a little nugget extra for you to ponder. Let's get started with the disdain.

The love triangle is not a fun thing to sit through, especially when you know deep down Ben Affleck is going to get the girl (I doubt he would have done the movie if he wouldn't have). This is apparently a typical Michael Bay practice; kill the other male character vying for Ben Affleck's love interests' affection (i.e. Bruce Willis in Armageddon). Another thing I found pointless was the addition of Cuba Gooding JR.'s character. I realize Doris "Dorie" Miller was a very heroic man who is very worthy of the praise he received. But Gooding's portrayal of Miller encompasses less than 20 minutes of screen time, and those minutes really do nothing to help build the film. I attribute this to The Patriot trend of adding a black character to make people think that blacks were, in the end, well noted for there service during times of conflict(war). If you want to see a film about the impact of black soldiers during WW2, see the HBO film The Tuskegee Airmen. It shows the fabled flight division comprised only of black airmen, and the incredible impact they had in the war over Europe, and within the US Army itself. While I could rail on about the race issue I will let it die there. And now let's hit the high points.

Despite the typical love story I found my self caring for the characters at some points. In particular I found myself drawn in by Josh Hartnett's character. He is not so over the top as Affleck and Baldwin are, and it is refreshing. Of the main characters, his character seamed the most real. Where as Affleck actually fancies himself as a super hero on and off screen, Hartnett just seams like the normal guy thrust into an impossible situation, the way most that are considered heroes by history are. Also, let's give a huge nod to ILM for yet another masterpiece of visual effects. They keep on showing us that they are the masters on making dreams become realities. Yet in doing so, they have led me to a moral impasse.

In the past when films about war, including Tora Tora Tora, were made the imagery was cheesy at best. Even a novice could pick apart the inaccuracies and crappy visual effects, and it is not the film makers fault they just didn't have anything better. That may have been a blessing. We get to witness the biggest military blunder in our countries history in incredible detail. We get to see the soldiers and sailors blown to pieces in stunning fashion. But what everyone in the theatre except for me failed to realize was that these were real people. This isn't a fictitious earth of the future being haunted by an asteroid. The people so precisely being blown to bits are the grandparents of we the twenty something crowd. Yet the herd, grazing and munching on the eye candy just stared in awe of the splendor of Hollywood. I was in awe too, the beautifully done Japanese aircraft coming in low and fast was great. Then as the first torpedo hit and killed the men cleaning the boat, I just wanted it to be over, and the rest of the crowd strapped in for a wondrous ride they compared to scenes from Star Wars and the like. I guess what I am getting at here is I walked out of the theater feeling a huge debt of gratitude to the men who died while brushing their teeth on a Sunday morning and everyone else who left felt they had seen a great action film with a mediocre story. I can only hope my generation is not this shallow. Maybe some pages of history are best left for books. Some things were bad enough being seen by the eyes of the people experiencing it. It is obviously not appreciated by the audience viewing it. How does splashing it out in state of the art visuals and THX sound help it pay homage to the people who died that day when the people viewing it are only hoping it has better effects than the new Planet of the Apes flick? Should we look forward to the Columbine Shooting film or the Oklahoma City bombing film? Hey, I heard Brad Pitt is playing Tim McVeigh, it should be great. I gaurentee they would both make money, if they aren't in the works already. When we as a people can be heard aloud comparing a tragic event like Pearl Harbor to the wonderful cgi work of another tragedy, Titanic, is there any wonder why our society is where it is today?

I'll end this here, as I am quickly running out of word space. I would like to thank you for reading my review, and hopefully I've made you think, even if just a little. I hate to sound so preachy about a movie. But my experience tonight at the movies was so bizarre I felt I had to share it. Maybe you should go check it out, just to witness desensitization at its most glorious.


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