Customer Reviews

Pearl Harbor 60th

5 star:		(406)
4 star:		(165)
3 star:		(141)
2 star:		(136)
1 star:		(305)

 

 

. . . of the worst war film ever produced. The plot of this film is stretched so thin it's likely to break. It certainly broke me from seeing any more trite films like it. A hot pilot with poor vision stretches his career from illegally flying for the RAF [against the wrong model of Bf109] to being one of the two Warhawk pilots to get aloft during the Pearl Harbour attack to flying a Mitchell bomber in the propaganda raid against Tokyo! Along the way he meets, gains and loses the girl. Of course, he retrieves her again, but this is Hollywood. What else could happen?

As if the plot wasn't thin enough, some clown put Afleck in the lead role. Someone should find Afleck a proper day job - cleaning the heads, dumping the honey wagon or robbing graves. Anything but putting him before a camera and inflicting that flat excuse for characterisation on an unsuspecting public. None of the actors in this film are given a proper role, with the sole exception of Jon Voight. Poor old Dan Ackroyd would have been super as the intelligence officer Ellis Zacharias, even if he is a bit plump for the part. Instead, he plays some ephemeral naval officer championing the defense of Pearl instead of the Philippines or Marianas Islands. Alec Baldwin is slipped in as Jimmy Doolittle, a role that, given the story line, should have been the lead. But then, of course, all that romantic lead-up would have been wasted. As was Baldwin.

It's difficult to understand the intent in making this film. All sense of why the Japanese launched the attack is blithely omitted. Justified or not, we are left with only the "day of infamy" attitude. There's relevance in presenting that, but Japan didn't launch the War of the Pacific on a whim. Their purpose, in their view, was to prevent encirclement. No lessons are to be derived from the story or the events portrayed. There was heroism on both sides, but you'd never glean that from watching this. Yamamoto's American experience and misgivings are overlooked, except for a single line. The Emperor's role, which was significant, is also omitted. The United States was attacked, suffering a terrible blow. Any military historian will explain it was a blessing in disguise as attention was diverted from the ungainly battleships to more flexible carrier flotillas. All this film portrays are implausible characters, a love story so trite as to be nauseating, and a surfeit of violence.
[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Does the film deliver as entertainment? Yes. That is the bottom line. Does it deliver for historical accuracy? Well...pretty much.

I am glad the movie includes lesser known, real life characters and their exploits. Have to give the filmmakers credit for that. It also captures the real feel of the 40s, where travel and communications aren't like they are today. The scene where the nurses arrive at Pearl Harbor is great. They are wide-eyed in this place they had never seen or been to before. I thought that was a good touch.

Love story- lots of reviewers mention the cheesy love story. As a 36 yr old, I have no idea just how difficult relationships are in times of war. I thought PH actually did a good job portraying the conflict of feelings, and how one deals with the uncertainties of wartime romance. The phenomenal Battle of Britain scenes help keep the movie from bogging down until the immediate build up to the Pearl Harbor attack.

Glad it ends with the Doolittle Raid- that story deserves each and every opportunity to remind the world about those incredibly brave sailors and airmen. Also glad scenes of the Eagle Squadron at the Battle of Britain are included as a way to remember those brave american volunteer airmen that helped the British in their most desperate hour.

Remembering the film is entertainment...sit back and enjoy the aerial scenes and turn up the volume!

I hear people talk about Pearl Harbor as though it were the worst film ever made. I didn't personally think it was that bad. It wasn't necessarily good, but it was entertaining in a very cheesy, hokey kind of way. There was some pretty terrible dialogue (Not anxious to die, just anxious to matter), a little too much focus on the love story and some consistency/accuracy issues (I had no idea that you could take a train from the US to London). I thought the acting was all right. Again, the writing was atrocious in some areas, but I think the actors made due. I don't think Cuba Gooding Jr. had a big enough role. I think the biggest redeeming thing for this film was the attack scene. I thought it was quite well done. The piloting, the effects, the stunts, I thought they did a great job recreating the actual attack, from what I've seen of footage and pictures. I wasn't there, so I can't speak to its accuracy, but it looked amazing on screen.

As for the DVD itself, it has a seperate disc with extras that are pretty entertaining and informative. They have behind the scenes features, about how things were shot, and they also have some historical pieces about Pearl Harbor.

I'd say it's worth picking up. Just perhaps keep your expectations in check.

I can hard understand the theme of this film or whether it is.
I suppose that the director and the producer of filme had been escaping from history classes at their hight school. They have bent dramatically the truth of history between America and Japan at that time. And I can not feel intellects in this film.
They have a little intellect that cadres of Japanes army never hold a meeting at fields. Such kids never guess they don't such a thing. There are no bits to buy this.

Wow, I don't think I have ever seen a better depiction of crap than in this film. The only thing redeeming is that Ben Affleck was in it...on second thought, there was nothing redeeming about it. And coporations wonder why people download movies instead of going and paying for them. In film (as it is in music) if your product is not worth paying for, people will download it. This film is one of many examples where the dobly 5.1 and HD quality picture makes no difference. Wanna see this film? Get it from Kazza

This is the DVD to get, it has the deleted scenes of the love affair between Doolittle (played by Baldwin) and Beckinsale - the child Beckinsale carries was actually Doolittle's, not Josh Harnett's - in this restored, original version

This is a good movie but not great. It's way too long and the actors are not really that good. The special effects are amazing to look at but it gets boring after a while. Jennifer Garner had a very small role in the movie. Why didn't she got a bigger part is beyond me. This unrated version is not that special only has a lot more gore/violence. Why did I waste time and money on this one I really don't know. If you love violence movies buy this now if now avoid it at all costs.

If you are interested in watching two films in one this is the film for you. Hollywood has butchered a significant moment in history and what could have been a powerful film.

Somehow the writers of this movie must have been trying to convince us of the errors of war without letting the horror of the bombings in Pearl Harbor speak for itself. Instead they threw in a horribly sappy romance movie in the midst of such tragedy. While I have no doubt that many of the people involved in the real Pearl Harbor were in love and beautiful, I have my doubts on whether or not "love" was the first thing on their minds during the attack. I also have my doubts that one woman could fall in love with two men who are both drop dead gorgeous and extrodinarily brave at the same time. Reality proves time and again the impossibility of this sappy romantic notion. This portion of the film should have been written out and left for the "Lifetime" network to promote!

Now for the good part.....this film will have you on your seatbones during the battle scenes. It will rile your patriotism and inspire you to learn more about the actual event in history. The special effects are decent although some of the harbor scenes are obviously fake. But the horror of thousands of sleeping men being awakened to war is tragic. To even begin to fathom being buried in a sinking ship is horrendous. I wish the movie would have pulled a bit more at our heartstrings by focusing on true stories of what these brave men endured to survive such an event rather than just the magnitude of the bombings. This is where movies like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Black Hawk Down" reign supreme and this one fails.

I recommend this movie purely for its ability to inspire you to learn more about the actual attack. Because the truth is in the men who survived this event not in this film. Worth noting of course is how our "intelligence" failed to protect Pearl Harbor. Maybe we need to construct a new word for that which "protects" us!

If the film makers were to title their travesty more accuratly it would be called, "Ben Afleck has nearly predictable girlfriend problems for like 2/3's of the movie and uh, sorta unrealisticly participates in the nation changing events at Pearl Harbor." I guess that title was too long for them, but never the less, this is certianly not an adiquate depiction of Pearl Harbor. Where this movie fails, is in its own ignorance of the title it shamefully claims. Absolutly no reason was given for the attack itself, or why we faild to prevent it. More so, the Japanese are depected as comming up with their plan for attack not only sponaineously, but OUTSIDE while their kids fly kites!! Think about the absurdity of this: The Japanese are one of only two military forces ever to attack our country since its formation (the revolutinary war dosnt count)with the other attack taking place on 9/11. This was a briliant military achievment that took countless hours of planning. And please,...I highly doubt that the war lords of Japan would hold top secret meetings outside in the open. Furthure more they certianly would never have taken their kids.
Despite all this the depiction of the attack itself was fairly well done, with spectacular CG effects that truly place the audience into the middle of the chaos. This is especialy evident in the hospital scenes both during and after the initial attack; they expertly convey a sense of hoplessness and confusion. However I hardley believed that Ben Afleck could piolet an aircraft. All in all, this is a big bugeted effort that displayes an ausome 30 minute invasion sequence that must convey what really happened, and a furthure two and a half hours of some kind Romance that deserves no place in any serious war film.

Everybody looks at this film and only likes ben affleck but i think josh hartnett who also performed in black hawh down is brilliant and really cute. i cried when he died! i just want everyone to know how much i love him!