December 7, 1941, A Day That Will Live in Infamy

Rating: 6/10 (22 July 2009)

Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay's film Pearl Harbor is based on the true story of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. It starts out in a field with two young boys playing in a father's crop dusting airplane. Little do we know that those two boys are going to be a big part of America's victory in WWII. Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) and Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) are Army Air Corp Pilots and best friends. Rafe goes to Britain to fight the Germans, leaving love behind. His plane gets shot down and he is presumed dead. As Danny comforts Rafe's girlfriend, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), they draw closer to each other. When Rafe turns up alive, the two former friends become enemies. It is through the turmoil of the war that the two are able to reconcile their differences. This film was made to remind everyone of the disaster that America had to overcome that morning in December. It was made to remember all those men that fought and the women that nursed soldiers and civilians back to health. This movie is seemingly aimed more towards the audience that knows little about what actually happened in WWII. Pearl Harbor is not for the historians. It may not follow the events exactly as they happened, but overall it is a good film if we are just looking for some great special effects, fight scenes, a few laughs or a good cry. There were many mistakes in this movie. In some of the shots of Battleship Row, you could see the Arizona Memorial in the background. Also, at the end, the pilots flying Doolittle's Raid crash land in China after running out of fuel. They are shot at by Japanese patrols, and there was only a vague explanation of the Sino-Japanese war that was underway. Some viewers may be confused as to why there were Japanese patrols in China. Bruckheimer and Bay did not make a history film to be shown in classes or to be compared to historical events. They made a war film with a love story entwined. I feel that Pearl Harbor is a good film.