Either you get it or you don't - it really is a great movie

Rating: 9/10 (13 July 2001)

I originally had this movie rated as a solid B (8 out of 10) but I just upgraded to a 9 (A-). This is really Steven Spielberg having fun - it's a movie, a LOUD movie, a movie that could have been thought up by boys in some back yard sandbox playing with their army men and had a large budget for special effects like an A-Bomb to drop on them. It has a LOT of laughs. Belushi is a cartoonish over the top pilot. In fact, everyone is cartoonish and zany, and in the heart of it all is the one voice of reason, General Stillwall, who wanders through all this. Gale and Zemeckis (the screenwriters) actually based a lot of the story on historical events and did their homework - there really was a blackout in CA one night where someone possibly reported an enemy plane was flying above, there really was a Japanese Sub that got off the coast of Cali, there really were Zoot Suit Riots. This movie has more history in 5 minutes than Pearl Harbor does in it's whole 3 hr entirety. A whole mess of stars show up and it's fun seeing them have fun. I loved seeing this when I was 8 years old when it was relased and I think I love it more now. Watch it usually once a year and like it more each time. Give it a shot, you won't be disappointed if you are looking for a "movie" (fun) and not a "film" (serious). The laserdisc and the DVD have the director's cut, which is worth the extra scenes.... Speilberg recognizes this as his first mistake after his two big hits, I disagree -- I wish he'd do another slam-bang-comedy-action flick like this rather than the childish-dumbed down tripe that was A.I. -- at least 1941 didn't try to make a statement and insult the audience's intelligence. It's dumb, loud and proud and a hell of a lot of fun. Grade A- (9 out of 10). "Lemmie hear your guns! Na-na-na-na-na-na!"