Too long, too depressing

Rating: 2/10 (24 May 2001)

A movie about the events leading to Pearl Harbor and the aftermath up to when America bombed Tokyo. The movie looks beautiful--some of the shots literally took my breath away. The special effects are very realistic. The film deals with an actual event but the three main characters are fictional and the action scenes are exciting if a little bit too fast and furious (I almost wish I had brought some Dramamine with me). A rousing music score is great too. All the acting is good too (especially Ben Affleck and Kate Breckinsale--Josh Hartnett is OK). Also there's strong supporting roles done by Alec Baldwin, Jon Voight (as President Roosevelt!) and Dan Aykroyd (very good in a straight dramatic role).
But I don't like the movie. It's way too long (3 hours--this easily could have been done in 2 1/2 or even 2 hours); the script is chock-full of every war movie cliché you can think of (right down to all the Japanese being evil and cold-blooded) and the direction--Michael Bay is very good at action--he is horrendous at romance. The love scenes between Kate Brekinsale and Ben Affleck have some of the worst dialogue I've ever heard in my life--the actors deserve credit for keeping a straight face while mouthing those lines. Also you do not film a love scene with the camera jammed in the actors faces. We know Affleck and Brekinsale are both beautiful--we don't need constant close-ups to prove it. Also, there are reports that Michael Bay was uncomfortable directing the women in the film...it shows. Beckinsale and the other women in the cast are good, but they seem to be unsure of how to play scenes. I don't blame them--I blame the director. Also, Cuba Gooding Jr.'s part is little more than a glorified cameo. What is he doing in this? His total screen time amounts to (maybe) 15 minutes!
The destruction of Pearl Harbor is unbelievable. It's also very grim and looks way too realistic. It's 40 minutes of ships blowing up, men (and women) getting gunned down in cold blood or drowning to death. It's not entertaining--it's depressing. I've also heard that this movie is chockful of incredibly stupid historical inaccuracies.
Also, I saw it at a preview audience--people were hissing the film at the end. What does that tell you? Bad dialogue, historically inaccurate, full of clichés and a far too graphic rendering of the bombing. I can't recommend this film.