Great Special Effects But Weak Storytelling

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2012)

Pearl Harbor is a war film that mixes action and romantic drama elements.It features a large ensemble cast, including Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Alec Baldwin, Jon Voight, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Colm Feore, Mako, Tom Sizemore, Jaime King and Jennifer Garner.It is a dramatic re-imagining of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.The film was written by Randall Wallace and directed by Michael Bay.
When the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on that fateful day in December of 1941, the United States was caught completely off guard by the formidable force of 350 heavily armed aircraft and leading to one of the most tragic events in U.S. military history. How could the military base not have known about such a massive attack? Was it due to the amazing strategy of the Japanese pilots, or did their fighters just hit the right place at the most unexpected and vulnerable time.
Pearl Harbor tries to be the Titanic of war movies, but it's just a tedious romance filled with laughably bad dialogue. For the first 90 minutes of the movie, Affleck and Beckinsale find a nice, appealing chemistry that plays on his strengths as a movie star and hers as a serious actress as he gives her glamour, she gives him smarts. Their truncated romance - the beginning of which is told in flashback so we can get right to the point where he has to leave her to go to England - works, thanks to their charm. They're no Kate and Leo from Titanic but they're pretty darn adorable in their own right. Hartnett, as the not entirely unwelcome third wheel, squints bravely but makes only a slight dent in the film. Everyone else in Pearl Harbor - from Cuba Gooding Jr.'s brave navy seaman to Jon Voight's able impersonation of FDR - is pretty much a glorified walk-on, taking a backseat to the pyrotechnics and action sequences that keep the three-hour film in fairly constant motion. But when that action does take hold, Pearl Harbor is quite a thrilling ride.The 40 minute action sequence is spectacular though.It's just a bit unfortunate that such an incredible, noble story, one which turned a nation around and galvanized a generation into action, should be told by such weak storytellers.