you can't deny it's an epic romance

Rating: 9/10 (24 May 2008)

we all know about the massive dislike for this movie due to its apparent blatant disregard for the people involved in the pearl harbor attack. what needs to be seen here is that this film is an epic romance like few other, and it's Michael Bay at his sensationalistic best.
The sweeping angled shots, the slow motion sequences, the consistently dramatic and intense score....it all works as long as you can get over yourself enough to be able to appreciate the great storytelling going on here.
I feel sorry for anyone who can watch this film and not be truly moved by the poignancy of it all. When it comes down to it, this film is about the romance, and they really do it well. Admittedly some scenes may be a little stressed (having your gal sitting on your knee in the cockpit while you do a barrel roll?); but this isn't a problem for the romantic idealist that most of us are lucky enough to have somewhere within us.
We all loved Cuba Gooding jr's character; i challenge anyone to deny they had goosebumps when he manned that gun and let out a maddening scream as he shot down that plane.
I imagine Alec Baldwin's character is what pushed the haters of this movie over the top. He was a perfect stereotype, delivering the macho-hero-patriot-badass-never say die lines. It's sensationalism, its exaggerated it's painfully Hollywood, but it fits, and you can't help but love it.
In terms of pure entertainment, and pulling at the heart strings, this film is tough to beat. I am a fan of the classics, i love the indie circuit, but most of all my main criteria when judging a film is if it can move you, and the impact that it leaves. We all know this film scores high in this area...and il say again if you aren't affected by it, then maybe you should try and think back to when you became so jaded or distracted from what fascinated and moved you in younger years.