Banal and unimaginative

Rating: 3/10 (22 September 2001)

The only reason to see this movie is the battle scene toward the end, but in contrast to the scenes at the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan," it is not complemented by the rest of the film. After a not-so-bad start, the screenplay of Pearl Harbor degenerates into the insipid and uninteresting. Altho the acting, while not great, is not terrible either, it does not matter. There is very little character development, especially of the women, and of course, none of the Japanese (contrast this to the great film "Tora Tora Tora"). The cinematography shows some good sunsets, but overall loses the backdrop in favor of unneeded continual close-ups of the characters. Very little of Honolulu and inadequate as to other surroundings --"Tora" was also much better here.
From everything to lines like "I just want to matter," to the insipid love lines, to the reappearance of Rafe after the fall in the sea, Pearl Harbor exudes banality and triteness, hackneyed and clicheish lines, and predictability. A further downside is achieved by including the Doolittle Raid (suddenly, fighter pilots are bomber pilots)--is not Pearl Harbor enough of an event in itself, with the focus partially lost by the filmmakers' need for a cheap vindictive counterraid? Is not the implied result of the sneak attack on America enough? And how many total unentertaining minutes does that give this turgid film?
As one who sometimes thinks the critics are unfair, for various reasons (including self-aggrandizement) in trashing movies, this time they certainly were on target. A blockbuster disappointment.