Impressive

Rating: 7/10 (3 June 2001)

Michael Bay's films always split people into two categories. They either like them, or hate them. One thing both parties can agree on is the fact that his films move. There is always a pan, a dolly, a zoom or some other camera trick that takes you farther than other films would. With Pearl Harbor, Bay takes you back to Dec. 7, 1941 and puts you there as the Japanese begin there attack. What leads up to the attack however, is a somewhat cliched first hour. We are introduced to Danny and Rafe, two Tennessee fly boys who have designs on the same nurse. We also are introduced to various other characters that enter into the grand scheme of things. Through this hour, we learn who they are, what they want from their lives and begin to make a connection with them. All of this may have been taken care in a little less time, but it's there on the screen, and like it or love it, it's not going anywhere. Once the attack on Pearl Harbor begins, the first hour fades into the background and you are thrust into the confusion, the horror and the insanity of the early morning attack. Planes dive in, strafing ships and people. Bombs scream through the sky and explode on their targets as the smoke gets thicker with each passing second. You witness the death of the Arizona, you watch as Dorie Miller mans a machine gun and opens fire on the attacking planes. You get caught up in the moment and you feel charged as the American forces retalliate against the Japanese. You then feel the pain and anguish as the wounded pour into the hospital and you see the fear in the faces of the nurses and doctors as they struggle to save their patients.
True there may be some historical inaccuracies, and some facts may have been left out or combined into others. Overall, Pearl Harbor achieves what it's makers set out to do. They wanted to capture the essense of what it was like to be there on that day. In that regard, they have succeeded.