Great Action, Flat Story No major spoilers...

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 2001)

This movie helps establish the new standard for action sequences, with the amazingly horrific, realistic images of the attack at Pearl. The destruction of the USS Arizona stands out particularly. The ripping explosion of her forward magazine is played out in a scene remnant of Saving Private Ryan. The men all struggling to stay above the water as the ship sinks, the sailors fighting to stay alive on the USS Oklahoma as she rolls over, and the Japanese pilots doing strafing runs over the survivors in the water.
Not much is made of the USS Shaw and her demise, but you truly can feel a sense of what it must have been like for those stationed at Pearl to be caught so completely off guard.
The acting nod goes to Jon Voight who steals the show portraying FDR. You really think he is FDR. Whether you like him or not, it is hard not to get fired up when you hear his fireside chats. The Affleck trio simply clutters the movie because the dialogue is so blah and predictable. I hate to agree with the movie critics, but for once, they are right. Cuba Gooding does a good job with his limited role. In a 3 hour, 5 minute movie you would expect him to have more than maybe 15 minutes. Alec Baldwin does a good job as Colonel Doolittle as well and deserves mentioning.

Lastly, I wish to say the movie is good, just not truly great like I had hoped. For gripping war reality, Enemy At The Gates and Pearl Harbor tell different stories, but you can experience the closest images yet of what War must be like.
Go see Pearl Harbor, but I do not imagine it will get a lot of repeat traffic. A final note that Hans Zimmer's score is very good as usual, but do not expect Gladiator. I gave it a solid 7, but I left feeling a bit disappointed after all the hype.