Good, but not great

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2001)

Pearl Harbor is not a war movie. If you want a movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor, rent Tora! Tora! Tora! and save a few bucks. If you want to see a movie about a love triangle that develops between two pilots and a nurse that just happens to be set in Pearl Harbor, this is your movie. For those of you willing to sit through 90 minutes of this just to see the attack, the wait is worth it. The attack scenes are spectacular, but just a little too PG-13 instead of realistic. After the attack, the two pilots are sent on a top secret mission to bomb Tokyo. Again, if you want to skip the love stuff, rent Thirty Seconds over Tokyo.
I didn't hate this movie, not by a long shot. I'm no fan of the Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay team, but I thought that I could put up with their melodrama in exchange for a good, but not great, war flick. Don't forget to bring your "Bruckheimer Checklist" if you do see this movie.
The Bruckheimer Checklist:
1. A group of the movie's heroes are walking in slow motion. 2. The camera follows someone's line of sight as they watch planes flying overhead. 3. American flags displayed prominently. 4. Kids playing in, again, slow motion, as someone says something important. 5. Lots and lots of melodrama.