pointless, but watchable

Rating: 5/10 (19 April 2006)

Why was this movie made? Was it to tell the story of The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that killed thousands of Americans or an overly predictable love story? I think it was neither. This film was made with the intent to follow in "Titanic's" profitable footsteps by combining romance with disaster, but the only difference is that the love story served "Titanic's" goal to convey the tragedy on an emotional level never before achieved on film whereas in "Pearl Harbor," it just gets in the way. The characters are wooden and the love story is as unbelievable as Ben Affleck is playing a soldier. The only decent performances were Jon Voight (as FDR) and Cuba Gooding Jr., but neither have large parts. There are very few good things that I can say about this film because, as a whole, it has no point and carries no message. Luckily, it is kind of nice to look at, the cinematography is good and the special effects are, at times, brilliant. That's enough for me to watch it maybe once a decade.