Half bad, half good

Rating: 5/10 (22 December 2002)

PEARL HARBOR was really two movies; one part was a horribly written love triangle (that makes the love story in STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES look good) between Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. The other part was a gritty, in-your-face action packed historical trip back to the early '40s that showed the attack of Pearl Harbor.
Like so many movies I've seen recently (HEAT, ATTACK OF THE CLONES), this is a movie that could be started half way through the film and you wouldn't miss a thing. Actually, the whole first half of the film deals with the really boring love triangle mixed in with the foreshadowing that Japan will attack us. If you took out the whole love triangle thing, this would have been a superb movie.
As of this point, I will pretend the love triangle (which was most likely thrown in for the DAWSON'S CREEK teenybopper audience) thing didn't exist. What we have here is a great, typical Bruckheimer film that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The action is superb. The performances by Cuba Gooding Jr. and Jon Voight as President Franklin D. Roosevelt were on the money.
I would recommend this movie, just skip the love triangle scenes and it will be that much more enjoyable.
I give PEARL HARBOR two stars. (out of four)