A wonderfully crafted saga when war came to our front door.

Rating: Null/10 (28 May 2001)

After reading the critics comments about this movie, I almost didn't go to see it. Thank goodness, I have stopped counting on critics to determine my viewing. This movie was wonderfully done. It shows the age of innocence when the men who went to war still believed in the greatness of America and exemplified the dreams and hopes of the country.
One of the complaints I heard was that the movie sounded too much like a 1940's movie. Yes, there was a reason for that. Perhaps because it took place during the 1940s and they wanted us to remember how life was back then.
Of the interviews given by survivors of the attack, nearly all had declared how true to life this movie was. That they could remember the sounds of the bombs as they exploded, the screams and cries of the sailors who were far from ready to embark on a war, let alone have their very ships blown out from beneath them.
The language, the actions, the hopes and expectations were authentically reflected in this movie. I can see this will become a classic in the coming years.
Saving Private Ryan showed the abject horror of the Second World War. Pearl Harbor gave us a glimpse of the innocence and, perhaps the overt optimism, which was felt during this time. If anyone criticizes this movie for being too formulaic, perhaps they need to see the movies of the fifties and sixties made about WWII, From Here to Eternity, South Pacific and others. I feel this will be a classic.