Good in spots, but mostly bad.

Rating: 3/10 (3 September 2007)

Here's my take on this movie. First, it was just too long! The editor should hang his head in shame. Some of the acting was good, but a lot more was either mediocre or bad. Ben Affleck should study some movies like "Sergeant York" and "Glory" to learn how to use facial expressions to effect. Also, Alex Baldwin's portrayal of Jimmy Doolittle is just laughable. Read J.H.D.'s autobiography "I Could Never Be So Lucky Again" to get a true portrait of this remarkable American. The best acting in the movie is Cuba Gooding Jr.'s and Jon Voight's. While the scenes showing the Japanese preparations were probably pretty accurate, and the attack and it's aftermath were great, it should have ended there. The rest of the movie was totally BOGUS. I don't insist on 100% historical accuracy, but I hate it when a major part of the plot is historical fabrication. The USAAF would never transfer fighter pilots directly to a bomber squadron like the movie showed. Especially not for a mission where they were attempting something that had never been done. I also think that the whole love triangle subplot was just a device to get women to see it, and the movie would've been better without it. Now, I want to answer some of the other comments I've seen here. First, it is well documented that Admiral Yamamoto was opposed to war with the U.S. Here's a quotation from him I found on Wikipedia: "Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it is not enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. We would have to march into Washington and sign the treaty in the White House. I wonder if our politicians (who speak so lightly of a Japanese-American war) have confidence as to the outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices." He KNEW Japan would never win. The "sleeping giant" line at the end of the movie is also a direct quotation. Also, the scene showing the Japanese pilot waving to the boys playing baseball to warn them away is one of the few things in the movie that IS 100% historically accurate. One more thing, in 1941 FDR's health hadn't deteriorated too badly, and he was still able to rise to his feet unassisted, which is something he would have insisted on doing in public. So, watch the first 2/3 of the movie and the very end, and it's not so bad.