Moving and Exciting

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2001)

I went to see this movie mostly for the flying and the action. Critics have been picky and implied the plot was boring. Well...... the action was great. It was the most thrilling flying I've seen in a movie.... it's not just bombs exploding and ships on fire...... but great reconstruction of air battles and thrilling flying before, during and after the Pearl Harbor attack. The best. The interesting part is that I was moved by the film as well...... even shed a tear or two, much to my surprise. The love affair plotline is certainly not new to the screen.... but it works very well..... and issues of friendship, loyalty, respect, are treated seriously, in mature, ethically responsible fashion. It's amazing how fresh it seems.

The historical aspects are depicted in relatively accurate fashion. I've read a great deal of the literature and though some events were, of necessity, written in shorthand, the general thrust was true to what we now know. Jon Voight presents the courageous and compassionate side of Roosevelt; it's a pity he did not show his aristocratic spirit as well. They were part and parcel. After much thought, he was our best president after Lincoln and Jefferson (I never understood why Washington is usually regarded as the best being that not much happened under his stewardship).
Tora Tora Tora is an exciting film but it tells the story from a less personal perspective..... a very different movie it is from Pearl Harbor, but also a very good one.