Done before, but has redeeming points

Rating: Null/10 (1 March 2003)

Pearl Harbor isn't really that bad a movie. Yes, it is far too referential about the Hollywood and WWII clichés. Yes, the most important attack upon the US during WWII is wrapped around a love story and the lifes of two farmboys is a backstory that goes on far too long and doesn't really get to the hart of Pearl Harbor - it would have been better if they'd focused on the political developments and intelligence failures that preceded it. Yes, this movie was written by the same guy (Randall Wallace) who gave us Braveheart and We Were Soldiers (notice how similar wifes/love-interests Madeleine Stowe and Kate Beckinsale look). And yes, there is some painful dialogue (especially Nicholas Farrell as the RAF officer - he looked like he was drowning his distaste for the lines he had to say in a pint of beer).
However, when all is said and done, you're left with a pretty well done yarn, nothing great, three attractive leads. Although with a budget like this, I guess much of the disappointment comes from the producers not paying more attention to the storyline and the script. One problem is that because so many movies have been made about world war 2 over the last half century, it is difficult to avoid the clichés (the conflicted love story, the dead soldier who really isn't, even the stammering guy to whom it falls to announce the Japanese attack, although that _is_ pretty funny - you've seen it all ten times before).
The battle scenes however are very good. But, as this movie is intended to lift spirits, it can't be just about the kicking the US Navy received during Pearl Harbor (like for instance A Bridge Too Far is just about Market Garden). So, the Doolittle Raid is tacked on, taking up the last half hour, allowing Alec Baldwin to reprise his role from Glengarry Glen Ross.
What is also good about this movie is that it shows at least two Japanese Americans working for the US military and also includes the story of Dorie Miller, a Black sailor who without specific training manned his ship's machine gun and shot down 6 Japanese bomber planes (3 of which were officially acknowledged), at a time when the Navy tried to keep Black troops out of active service.