This movie is bipolar.

Rating: 4/10 (27 December 2001)

I'm amazed that a film could be so simultaneously good and bad. I gave it a 4 on the ol' IMDb vote-a-meter thing, but it would've been a 1 had the actual Pearl Harbor attack not been so well done.
Everyone's right -- the attack's great, everything else bites. Overacted, manipulative filmmaking.
Although, once Alec Baldwin shows up in the last hour, the movie shifts into so-bad-it's-good territory. Baldwin adopts a gruff voice that kept reminding me of Kurt Russell's Snake in "Escape from LA". I kept waiting for Steve Buscemi to show up.
And oh, is there some magical dialogue. Simply magical. I just wish they would've used the phrase "Jap suckers" a little more. You know, to really get the point across.
But the attack sequence is pretty breathtaking. I found myself being quite moved at the harsh reality of it, and I gained even more respect for those who actually experienced Pearl Harbor. Too bad they're all paid tribute by such a bad film.
I wish I would've taken everyone's advice with this DVD -- fast-forward to the Pearl Harbor attack, then ejected the disc as soon as that's over.