"PEARL HARBOR has a perfect attact scene... but would have benefited from an R rating, and a shorter running time."

Rating: 5/10 (7 December 2001)

Pearl Harbor was easily one of the most anticipated films of the summer.It disappointed most critics, as well as most viewers. And after finally getting to see the film, I can understand why. Before I get to the review, let me just say that I think this film had a little more impact on me because of the events of September 11 (And also that I watched it today, on the day the Pearl Harbor was attacked).
The first hour of Pearl Harbor is terrible, and just so boring (Surprisingly, I think the only thing that kept me watching, was seeing the star of my favorite television show, "Alias," Jennifer Garner). I was laughing at the love story, and I don't think I was supposed to be. It is so underdeveloped, that I didn't care about the relationship between the two characters at all. I mean one second she's sticking needles up his ass, and the next there dancing together, and acting like newlyweds. Did I miss something? Also, the romance is just not romantic, which is also partly due to the fact that the characters aren't developed in the slightest bit. Who cares about a relationship, when you know close to nothing about the characters in love? Another problem with the first hour or so of the film, is that it seemed to attempt to add some comedy to the mix. And the comedy just wasn't funny. I thought that at times, the film seemed more like a parody of war films, than an actual war film.
Throughout the horrid first part, I sat and prayed that the attack scene would come. And when it finally did, I was not disappointed. The scene was perfect. It actually had some emotion in it (Although I don't think I cared for the characters - the scene reminded me that this actually happened, that thousands of people died. And it also reminded me of the thousands who died on September 11. And that got me sad, and upset). I got into the film for the 40 minutes, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time (However one part of the attack scene seemed to come straight out of Titanic, and that bothered me). I also loved Jon Voight's performance as President FDR - It was right on the money. Was it just me, or did the second part of the film seem like a completely different film - a much, much, much better film. However the ending goes downhill. I didn't feel they gave us enough of the war storyline. The fight scenes seem to end, because something happens to affect the love story, not because the war is over. I think it should have dropped most of the first hour, and used the extra time to expand on the war.
As for the acting, I wasn't impressed. Don't get me wrong, the stars did fine, but nothing extraordinary. Josh Hartnett was my least favorite actor in the film. I didn't think he did the best he could for some reason. Something was missing from his performance. Ben Affleck did fine, but I also thought something was missing from his performance. I did, however, like Kate Beckinsale's performance. Alec Baldwin was annoying in his role. But that is thanks to the cheesy dialogue provided by the script. As I already mentioned Jon Voight was great, and stole the scenes he was in. Cuba Gooding Jr. was decent in his small role (I would have loved to learn more about his character). Now let me take a little time to criticize the laughably bad dialogue. My favorite line came from Ben Affleck, while writing a letter to Evelyn. He said something along the lines of: "It's cold here. But there's one place I know I can go to keep warm. That is to think of you." That line had me laughing the whole night. Does it get any worse than that. Alec Baldwin also had some unintentionally hysterical lines.
Overall Pearl Harbor is a disappointment. It fails as a romance, and fails as a war film. However, the attack scene was fantastic! Like I said before, it was perfect. Had that scene not been so well made, this film would be crap on a stick. I also think the film would have benefited from an R rating, and a shorter running time. Cut out the love story, add some more of the war in the film, and we would have had a great, great war film. I know that I will not be recommending Pearl Harbor to many people.
Pearl Harbor: 5/10