Rating: 
Summary: ...A movie that will live in infamy
Review: FAR too many people have gotten it wrong. I have seen way too many reviews asking the question "so what if it's not historically accurate? It's a ROMANCE, silly." This argument is so flawed as to be laughable. I have no problem with romances set against real events. However, filmmakers have to realize that if they're going to do so, what is the point if they get the events wrong? Just set the film against some made up war if you want to make it so inaccurate. Second of all, while I have no problem with romances in general, I have a HUGE problems with romances that have me rolling my eyes or laughing (an unintentional occurrence by the filmmakers) or punching myself in the face every five minutes. I can not believe that this script was approved, let alone that it attracted some truly great actors (like Jon Voight, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Dan Aykroyd - NOT Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, and Josh Hartnett). Ah well, to each his own I suppose.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good, loaded with stars
Review: 1st Lt./Capt. Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and 1st Lt. Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) have always been best friends, and have both always wanted to be pilots, since they were kids. Although Rafe has always been the one looking out for Danny, trying to protect him, it was Danny who tried to help him hide his Dyslexia and pass the eye exam to become a navy pilot. It was at this physical exam that Rafe met Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), the navy nurse who "passed" him. They fall madly in love. But, four weeks later, Rafe is off to England to help fight Hitler. This is an assignment he volunteered for. Although he and Evelyn are now worlds apart, he wants so much to make a difference. He has no idea how much of a difference he will make, for himself, Evelyn and his country.Meanwhile, Danny and Evelyn are both stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Seems too good to be true, being sent to such a paradise. The Japanese are planning to annihilate the American's entire Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. This isn't just another history film. It's a love story between a man and a woman. It's also a love story between to best friends. Critics say there is much historical error in the film. I'm no history buff, I just enjoy great films. "Pearl Harbor" gives the audience an excellent inside scoop of how the Japanese planned their surprise attack so perfectly and how they gained inside information. The attack scene on Pearl Harbor was vividly portrayed and extremely fast-paced and intense. The photography and special effects were amazing. We saw the action from all angles: from the ground, the sea, the air, on the streets, in the hospital. The brutal devastation was all around. The slow sinking of the capsized USS Arizona showed similarities to "Titanic" with awesome visual effects. All of the men in the water, the men trapped inside the hull, entombed there forever - what a tragedy. The acting in "Pearl Harbor" was a blessing and the actors chosen for each role lived up to every expectation. Affleck can do no wrong in my book. Hartnett and Beckinsale, both strangers to me until now, both gave stunning performances. Other great stars, like Tom Sizemore, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alec Baldwin and Dan Ackeroid lent a hand in the success of this film. The make-up on the great Jon Voight was so well done, I almost didn't recognize him as President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Alec Baldwin's character encourages his men: "Victory belongs to those that believe in it the most, and believe in it the longest. We're gonna believe, and we're gonna make America believe, too."
Rating: 
Summary: Tries to be the Titanic of Pearl Harbor
Review: Michael Bay's film commemorating the attack on Pearl Harbor tries to relive the story of a love affair set against a disaster like the film Titanic does, but it tries too hard. Pearl Harbor should have been three separate films. The movie jumps back and forth between the love triangle of Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett and the political dealings of the U.S. and Japanese government. In other words, it's trying to have the intimate, emotional story of Titanic, and the political, historical story of Thirteen Days. Then, thrown in the mix for some unknown reason, are scenes with Cuba Gooding Jr. as the first commended black soldier, which feels like it's just tacked into the movie. There's barely any connection between him and the other main characters. His story deserved its on movie, not as an afterthought in this film. Michael Bay should have decided if he wanted to make a historically accurate account of Pearl Harbor, or an emotional and intimate portrayal of a group of friends caught in the middle of the attack. This movie tries too hard to be too many things, and that is why it fails. But, that is not to say there isn't anything worthwhile in Pearl Harbor. Perhaps one of the most visually astonishing battle sequences ever put to film is in this movie. The actual attack is both beautiful and horrifying. If feels like there were really cameras there to capture it. The 45-minute-attack is simply amazing, and worth multiple viewings. However, where Titanic succeeds in mixing the love storyline in with the disaster, Pearl Harbor puts the love story aside for 45 minutes, and picks it up later. The attack felt like a different film. Another problem is the film tries to manipulate the audience to feel patriotic and emotional. I don't have a problem with a film invoking a feeling of national pride, but certain pieces of dialogue and scenes try so hard to make the audience feel something, it loses any subtlety. I don't like it when a movie basically tells me loud and clear "Feel sad now, and patriotic!" I prefer the more effective subtly Titanic uses. This movie had potential, but lost it through its schizophrenic nature.
Rating:
Summary: Good
Review: It's hard to call Pearl Harbor great movie making, but those who say the film is a complete waste of time and money are also incorrect. Those moviegoers who saw the tear-jerking war epic and came out shaking their heads in disgust were all expecting too much. Pearl Harbor is meant to be both a historic picture and a love story, but anyone who is able to watch the movie with an open mind will realize that director Michael Bay uses the naval base as the setting for a love triangle. Those who went to the movie expecting a movie about Pearl Harbor and what actually happened there with a sub-plot about a courageous young pilot, his shy best friend and a beautiful nurse we're doomed to be disappointed. The acting isn't awful; the story is emotional and moving and, let's remember, it was an Oscar nominee.
Rating: 
Summary: Woah!
Review: This is a really great movie!It keeps you at the edge of your seat.I saw this movie with my BFF at one of our over nights.I woke her up and said"Come on Girl!We gotta see the rest!" You can just tell I was addictied!It was a blast that is a movie that I love.A movie with some Action,sarrow,romance and at some parts comedey!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Historical Event/Fictional Story Combo
Review: I never knew the details of what happened at Pearl Harbor. This movie did a better job than most other "remakes" have done. The fictional story of two pilots falling in love with the same woman was what made this movie interesting. I'm not a huge fan of the romantic story lines, but this wasn't bad. The way the DVD is broken into 2 different parts is a little frustrating becuase you have to switch discs when the best scenes are very close. The actual attack, in the movie, was documented wonderfully. The actual scenes were outstanding and on par with those of films like Titanic for realism. The film did as well as it could in capturing the emotion, chaos and horror of the events of December 7. The emotion of the movie was similar to that of 9/11. I found myself living out the emotions of the WTC while watching one of the funeral scenes after the attack on Pearl Harbor. People today have at least some idea of what those at Pearl went through because of the events of 9/11. The goal of this film, aside from buck bucks at the box office, was to commemorate what happened on that day. The emotion and feeling was well captured and the fictional story went so well with the actual evetns. I thought this film was a very nice tribute to the events at Pearl Harbor. It was tasteful and captured as much emotion as much as possible in a movie.
Rating:
Summary: Rewrite of History
Review: This is the worst rewrite of history in the past thirty years! And it is amazing that Hollywood considers Ben Affleck an actor. Good Gracious, where are the Van Johnsons' and Gregory Pecks'of our time gone? Can you believe Alec Baldwin playing Colonel Jimmy Doolittle? That my friends, is an insult. Don't waste your dollars.
Rating:
Summary: Just Plain Awful
Review: Why would anyone want to own this awful movie? It failed as both history and art. And the long bombing sequence just looked like a video game effect. Get Tora! Tora! Tora! instead.
Rating:
Summary: Bombs Away! WHAT A DUD!!!
Review: I am so glad I caught this on cable, rather than spent my good, hard-earned money on this awful film. While I give credit to Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett & Kate Beckinsale for some decent acting-it's a shame that this story as presented turned out to be more of a soap opera than anything else. Cuba Gooding, Jr. barely had much screen time, but the few scenes he had were outstanding & left me wanting much more. To be fair, the special effects scenes-especially showing the attack on Pearl Harbor, were terrific-it's just that Hollywood took too much poetic license here & made what should have been a terrific film into a terrible one. The movie, thanks to the soap stuff(Rafe falls for nurse Evelyn, Rafe goes off to fight in Europe, crashes into the sea & is supposedly KIA, then after Evelyn finds consolation in the arms of Rafe's best buddy Danny, of course Rafe suddenly turns up all in one piece at Pearl Harbor, etc.)is about an hour too long. SAVE YOUR MONEY, FOLKS-Watch it on cable(I've seen it on STARZ! myself)or wait til it eventually turns up on regular network television-edited down for tv, just as they did last year with the much more glorious Saving Private Ryan(they must make room for all those commercials, after all!). Not recommended AT ALL.
Rating: 
Summary: What a waste...
Review: Alot was expected out of this potentially-epic film. One of the greatest tragedy in American history brought down to a measly romance film SET during the Pearl Harbor attack. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing aginst romance films...unless it gets in the way of the important things in the movie...like everything else beside the romance, in this case. Bah! Maybe I was expecting a classic like Platoon or A Thin Red Line. Or the eastern hemisphere version of Saving Private Ryan. My advice? Don't buy, rent or wait til its Television premere.
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