A blockbuster with real quality.

Rating: 9/10 (3 September 2001)

**SPOILERS**Okay, I would first like to ask all the critics to get off Pearl Harbor's back. In a Michael Bay-directed, Jerry Bruckheimer-produced summer event film, you can not expect Shakespeare in the drama department. If you go in with that in mind, Pearl Harbor will reveal it's quality to you, through it's great action, patriotic feel, and the extremely appealing performances of the three leads. Ben Affleck is a potent leading man. His best performance was in Bounce, but this one ties with Good Will Hunting as a close second. He broods, romances and cries with equal fervor. Kate Beckinsale fits nicely in the film in a strong performance, sharing chemistry with both co-stars. Josh Hartnett is given a kind-of thankless role, but he is strong, charming, self-deprecating and touching at the same time.And- SPOILER AHEAD-- what girl wouldn't swoon at that love scene!! The bottom line is that Pearl Harbor suffers from the prejudice of movie critics who STILL don't realize that summer is the time to be entertained above all. Pearl Harbor accomplishes this while still being the best film that Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer have ever done. I can't help but wonder what the reviews of Pearl Harbor would have been like if it had been released last December, the original date for release. Maybe Gladiator wouldn't have taken home that Oscar.