Pearl Harbor

Rating:
Summary: Good but should have been better.
Review: This was a movie worthy of seeing, assuming that you know that you are watching a love story and not watching a lot of history. Surely the action scenes are great and the movie generally followed history. The problem is that they could have done the same love story and not changed the historical facts. In the movie Midway, history was followed almost to minute detail. They did throw in the love story angle and the ficticious hero, Matt Garth (Charlton Heston), with his son falling in love with the Japanese girl. This did not take away from a very good historical movie. Who knows why the makers of Pearl Harbor decided to gloss over much of history? Even the scenes of ships exploding in the harbor were obviously modern warships used as props. I was hoping to see WWII era destroyers and cruisers but no such luck. It looked strange to see modern frigates and guided missile cruisers being bombed by the Japanese in 1941. The bottom line is that they made a good movie and blew the chance to make a great movie. If you want to see history, see Tora Tora Tora!. If you want a movie with an love story and great computer generated special effects, see Pearl Harbor.

Rating:
Summary: Pearl Harbor
Review: This is the best movie I've ever seen! You definitly have to buy it! I saw it 5 times in the theaters!

Rating:
Summary: Really Deserves a 3 1/2 Star Rating..
Review: All I could think of when I saw 'Pearl Harbor' is how very much like 'Titanic' it was. The plot is very different, the actors have a very unique style, but it seemed like Michael Bay was trying to recreate James Cameron's success - a bold ambition. By using the same thematic elements - love won and lost, man-made disasters, and surrealistic settings, I am thinking he hoped it would gain the same epic-movie status as others like it. I'm not surprised it failed to get as much box office attention as 'Titanic', simply because the notice surrounding that film was so unbelievable. However, that doesn't mean that this film wasn't successful. It really is quite good.

Yeah, okay, sometimes the dialogue is quite hokey.. what's with Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett's awkwardness around each other - even after being close for so long - and with that constant rehearsing what they are about to say to each other? It was cute when it was first done, but after that, it just got rather old. The romance between Ben Affleck and Beckinsale was also rather contrived, kinda set up, but if you can push that into the back of your mind it's sweet and cute. You really don't get a glimpse of the seriousness of their relationship until they explain it.

The action sequences were very long and very drawn out, but managed to be relatively interesting. It was actually quite shocking for a while, until it was clear it wasn't going to end anytime soon. The way the nurses are portrayed is really fabulous, the confusion, the death, is all played out beautifully. The soundtrack is OK.. Faith Hill's love theme song is very irritating, altough on a particularly emotional day I heard it on the radio and began to sob. Hans Zimmer has done better work ('Gladiator', etc). The ending of this movie, with the dialogue being as cheesy as it was, could have been a whole lot more tear-jerking. But as it was, I was crying in the theater anyway! Heck, Ben Affeck and Josh Hartnett have been able to inspire tears in all their films - 'Armageddon', 'Here on Earth', all that. I must say that Kate Beckinsale doesn't really do it for me, even though she is a beautiful and talented actress. I think they needed someone a little less glamorous and a little more down-to-earth to play her, but she's still good. Her narrating at the end is quite nasty, however, really a bad way to end the film.

All in all, not as good as I hoped, but really not too bad. Doesn't deserve 4 stars, but 3 stars implies something only mediocre, and 'Pearl Harbor' does manage to rise about all that.

Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as you've heard
Review: Despite being hammered by critics this was not a bad movie. There were some really cool effects that make the movie worth watching. The whole love story is a bit or a reach but let's remember this is not reality we are dealing with. I loved Kate Beckinsale and hope that she doesn't suffer the same career turn that Kate Winslet did after "Titanic".

Rating:
Summary: Lots of love but no Pearl Harbor
Review: I must admit that I did enjoy the romance in the movie. This movie however was not Tora,Tora, Tora.

Rating:
Summary: A moving war story but the love story is lacking.
Review: Pearl Harbor is a story of two young pilots' friendship and their love for the same woman, paralleled with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As spectacular as the special effects are, this film has some character flaws. Kate Beckinsale (Evelyn) is a real beauty and is well-cast as her character from that perspective, but her acting isn't believable or moving. She doesn't make us feel her love or her sorrow. Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character (Dorie Miller) lacks character development in the screenplay, which is a pity since he plays a real-life hero. Josh Hartnett (Danny) is the real surprise in the cast. He gave the most believable performance and with his onscreen charisma and boyish good looks, Pearl Harbor will be this heartthrob's big break into stardom. I expected Pearl Harbor's love story to be a real tear-jerker, yet I barely shed a tear. Even though it's sad, it lacks the kind of character development and acting that drains us of our emotions or makes our heart skip a beat. On the other hand, this film gives us a historical look at the devasting attack on Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the U. S. S. Arizona and the roll-over of the U. S. S. Oklahoma and from that perspective it will leave you breathless and break your heart.

Rating:
Summary: A moving war story but the love story is lacking.
Review: Pearl Harbor is a story of two young pilots' friendship and their love for the same woman, paralleled with the attack on Pearl Harbor. As spectacular as the special effects are, this film has some character flaws. Kate Beckinsale (Evelyn) is a real beauty and is well-cast as her character from that perspective, but her acting isn't believable or moving. She doesn't make us feel her love or her sorrow. Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character (Dorie Miller) lacks character development in the screenplay, which is a pity since he plays a real-life hero. Josh Hartnett (Danny) is the real surprise in the cast. He gave the most believable performance, and with his onscreen charisma and boyish good looks, Pearl Harbor will be this heartthrob's big break into stardom. I expected Pearl Harbor's love story to be a real tear-jerker, yet I barely shed a tear. Even though it's sad, it lacks what it takes to drain us of our emotions or make our heart skip a beat. On the other hand, this film gives us a historical look at the devasting attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the sinking of the U. S. S. Arizona and the roll-over of the U. S. S. Oklahoma and from that perspective, it will leave you breathless and break your heart.

Rating:
Summary: Why did it get such bad reviews in my newspaper?
Review: This in a way reminds me of "Titanic", the way they're both love stories set in historical events, but don't waist your time with that hunkajunk. "Pearl Harbor" is a truly moving story about two pilots and a woman. One pilot (Ben Affleck) is in love with the woman, but when he goes to help fight the war in Europe and is presumed dead, the other pilot (Josh Hartnett) falls in love with the same woman. But when Ben Affleck comes back December 6, trouble brews, especially the next morning. The plot sounds mushy and boring, I know, but it really is a very good movie which I really enjoyed. The cast was perfect, and the 40 minute attack scene is exhilerating and realistic. I seriously cried atleast two times. Like "The Patriot", it really captured the sense of war times. But I liked "The Patriot" a lot more. What was really cool is that my dad's cousin is a professional pilot and he flies one of the three real planes in the movie! A good war drama.

Rating:
Summary: A Day That Will Live In Infamy........
Review: December 7th, 1941. A day our nation will never forget. A day that is brilliantly captured in this movie. As the credits rolled on the screen after the show, I sat in my seat, amazed at what I had just witnessed. Pearl Harbor is oen of those movies that doesn't come along that often. A drama that touches the heart of a historical event.
The casting in this movie was superb. Ben Affleck plays his character almost as well as in "Good Will Hunting". Newcomers Josh Harnett and Kate Beckinsale turn in wonderful performances that hold the viewer throughout the entire picture. However, the entire picture is the only problem I had with this film. The overall length of the film was just too long, although the ending was nothing like I was expecting. I was pleased to see this type of ending on such a sobering film.
This film should be expecting a few Oscar nominations, most likely in the way of Best Visual Effects. The only thing holding this movie back, in my mind, is the length. But then again, Titanic was over 3 hours long, and it won almost everything, so we'll see what happens.
All in all, I thought this movie was fantastic. As someone in the entertainment field, I can appreciate the hard work and dedication it takes to make a movie as powerful as this one.
December 7th, 1941 is a day that will live in infamy. It will be remembered not just in our minds and history books, but in this motion picture as well.

Rating:
Summary: Why this Movie Changed Me!
Review: I was not alive when the actual bombing of Pearl Harbour took place. I always knew a little about this event; such as where it happened, what happened, and how they got revenge, you could say. This movie showed a clearer understanding of the event. I know there were parts that weren't correct and also the fact that they only showed the American side of this war.
This movie had a plot, like any other movie would, that suited this movie. The plot helped to make the situation in this movie come more to life. By showing emotions and feelings of the people most closely involved in the plot.
The acting was wonderful, the selection of actors and actresses for the specific parts was amazing, and the whole thing goes together just right.