Awful! If this were a book, you'd read it in the bathroom and never tell a soul!

Rating: 1/10 (26 May 2001)

Everyone probably has a different reason for hating this movie; and most likely, they're all correct. And yet, to be honest it also has some engaging aspects, and even a tiny number of good moments.
First, the effects are good. Having seen literally hundreds of recreations of the Pearl Harbor attack over the past decades, what could they do that would dazzle or even inform the audience? Not much, I'm afraid. So the good effects don't really mean much. They are kind of wasted, because they are so humdrum. Although the flying bullets were scary.
Second, the history is rudimentary. That's OK, but it does ignore a lot of real-life meaning. For example, the movie depicts Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, the inspiration and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, commenting on the bombing success. In the movie, he (as played by way-cool actor Mako) is merely a head-shot, evidently in the open air. He says, "Perhaps we have merely awakened a sleeping giant." Ok, that's historically recorded. What isn't depicted in the movie is context within which he is said to have made that remark. According to historian and author John Toland, the pilots, officers, and crew of the Japnaese aircraft carriers were wildly celebrating their victory at Pearl Harbor. Amidst the drinking, whooping-it-up, and general Part-ay!!! vibe, the admiral refused to join in. His officers begged him to party with them, and he declined, saying, in effect, "I lived in the United States, and have toured her industries extensively. You have NO idea how vast her power is. As successful as this raid was, I'm telling you we've only awakened a sleeping giant. Rather than partying right now, I suggest we get back to Japan as fast as we can, and start building as many airplanes and training as many pilots as possible. We're going to need them." OK, so maybe that's close enough to the movie version, but in a 3-1/2 hour movie, don't you think a few seconds of character development time could have been devoted to the Japanese?
Lastly, the soap opera vibe was hideous! Right from the first scene, the music score was loud, dramatic, syrupy sweet, with "dramatic-climax" violins and female choral voices. Throughout the movie, the tone was mawkish, overly sentimental, and annoyingly corny. Many of the scenes, and story threads, were so ham-fisted and clumsy, it was just plain BAD!
If "Pearl Harbor" were a book, you'd read it in the bathroom, skip half it, hoot and laugh and the other half, and never reveal your dirty little secret to anyone!