Very mixed feelings.

Rating: 5/10 (13 June 2001)

As a history buff, I tend to be extra critical of movies on major historical topics. If really great, they are highly cherished. If not so hot, then I feel uncomfortable. I regret that I am lukewarm to cool about the supposed blockbuster, "Pearl Harbor"
I suppose it depends on what you want to see. If you want the attack on Pearl Harbor depicted with "Star Wars" special effects hype, then you are in for another Adrenalin rush. But somehow, the depiction just doesn't seem quite right. An example? Yes, the US did manage to get a few planes off the ground during the raid and some dogfights and Japanese casualties occurred. But nothing I have read about the raid indicates that rival pilots chased each other around the facilities on Hickam Field.
Other aspects of the film? The romantic involvement of the two pilots (falling in love with the same girl, yet somehow managing to remain friends in the end) is not totally unbelievable, but would have been rare in the cultural milieu of the early '40's. Also, the movie, which not only builds up to Pearl Harbor, dramatizes the Raid and then moves on to Jimmy Doolittle's bold venture, is very long.
It is very appropriate, in year 2001, for the American film industry to celebrate the 60th. anniversary of Pearl Harbor. But, as a depiction of this momentous event, the movie doesn't hold a candle to "Tora, Tora, Tora" which really was a serious and highly successful attempt to depict history.