This Sleeping Giant Never Really Awakens.

Rating: 5/10 (4 February 2006)

How could one possibly describe Pearl Harbor in one sentence? For me, it's saying this: it's a completely difficult one to judge. I really cannot say whether it's a bad film or a good one  it's neither. It was obviously made for big bucks at the box-office, but it is quite hard to tell if Bay was interested in creating a good movie or not.
Pilots Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Danny (Josh Hartnett) have been best friends since childhood. Soon, Rafe finds out that he has to leave for England to fight with the RAF during pre-WWII for America. He soon says goodbye to Danny, and his loving girlfriend, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). When Rafe is supposedly shot down in France, Danny tells Evelyn. Soon, the two fall in love and turn to one another after the tragedy. But, months later, it turns out that Rafe is still alive and comes to visit Evelyn and Danny at their new base in Hawaii. Though the three are held in a tough situation, it gets even worse the next day when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, drawing America into World War II.
I don't know whether I should begin stating the strengths or weaknesses  so I'm going to do both. I'll start with the main relation to the title- the attack sequence. The special effects are stunning. The scene would have been an achievement in cinematic action scenes if it weren't for the film's bad reputation. Not including the beginning or aftermath, the attack lasts over half an hour. That means, as exhilarating as it is, it's very hard to watch soldiers and innocent people being shot and blown up. It is very depressing, and not very fun to watch.
Michael Bay is best known for making loud action pictures ("The Rock", "Bad Boys"), and many label this as his worst film. I really do think that this is one of his harder works, but I would not call this a good movie either, and nor did I not enjoy it much. It seems like Bay would rather concentrate on the action and effects rather than the characters and their emotions (with a good screenplay).
The script in the film seems completely rushed and written without much thought. "Pearl Harbor" has very weak comedy, tedious love exchanges between the characters, and a clichéd, predictable outcome. I think Bay has tried too hard to create a Hollywood, love-story action masterpiece, but since it comes off as both a 'guy movie' and a 'chick flick' with such strong manner, it probably won't appeal to either sex.
The love sequence is probably the film's main weakness. Like the script, the love story has been recycled in many other films, mainly reminding us of "Titanic". "Titanic" had a fresh love story, great visuals, wonderful acting, and a terrific script. "Pearl Harbor" is missing over half of these qualities. "Pearl Harbor" was meant to portray America as a tough nation during WWII, but Bay belabors the point, and almost makes it Anti-Japanese (especially by giving us an unnecessary last 1/3 of the film showing a revenge attack).
I admit, the acting is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Affleck is pretty bad, yes, but he has done worse. Hartnett actually isn't too bad, but was better in Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down". The supporting performances are pretty poor, aside of familiar faces such as Cuba Gooding Jr., Jon Voight, Alec Baldwin and Tom Sizemore.
Overall, I would say that "Pearl Harbor" is an epic cinematic disappointment. A movie that could have been so much more than it is. However, it is a prime example of today's movie-making  how some films are made strictly for money, and not good criticism. I would say that I don't recommend "Pearl Harbor", but if you are a hardcore action movie fan, who can stand a long running length and a cheesy script, then go for it. Not really a bad film, just one that could have made itself so much more. 2.5 out of 5 stars.