Jon Monsarrat review: Movie so-so, but what a great true story!

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 2002)

Like most people, I wouldn't rant about "Pearl Harbor" as a movie on its own merits. There are stunning visuals, but the plotting and acting is a little too syrupy.
However, because "Pearl Harbor" is a true story, at least in the big themes, I felt a deep connection with this film. I got the sense that even the cheesy bits were flashes taken from the real lives of real people. These were people I wanted to understand and empathize with. The film did that for me.
I've always avoided war movies because the basic point is usually, "war is hell". Of course it's hell, and I don't need to relive a horror and get the requisite trauma and nightmares. But Pearl Harbor, while it had plenty of the horrors of war, did a good job of presenting reality without bringing the horror so close that I couldn't bear to watch it (as in "Black Hawk Down"). The film is rated PG.
So, while I would recommend "Saving Private Ryan" instead, Pearl Harbor in my mind is certainly worth watching and a good idea for anyone who wants an appreciation for war without a surround-sound nightmare of reliving it too closely.
Who should see this film:
-- War film buffs with nothing better to do on a rainy day
-- Schoolkids and others who'd like to appreciate the sacrifices
made in WWII but who'd avoid the tougher, bloodier war films.
This one is safe and has something to say despite the
simplistic love triangle.
I'll give "Pearl Harbor" a probably-undeserved 9 out of 10 because it pays respect to a real life event whose victims deserve honoring.