Good stuff

Rating: Null/10 (7 March 2002)

Pearl Harbour received some of the harshest criticism I can remember any film getting for a long time. Panned by almost every paper, magazine or internet site in the world, I was never going to be able to watch this film with an open mind. However, despite the cliche ridden script and some debatable acting, Pearl Harbour was a film I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. There were plenty of good action sequences and edge of your seat excitement. I go to the cinema to be entertained and I found this film an extremely entertaining experience. I think that maybe one of the reasons Pearl Harbor was so widely criticised was the subject matter. I am sure many people were unhappy to see various people make vast sums of money from a historically innacurate version of a tragic event in which many people lost their lives. It also glossed over many of the appalling events that took place after the Pearl Harbour bombing and seemed to look at the entire war from an American perspective. The film was also far too long. After the spectacular action sequence where we saw the Japanese fighters attacking the American ships, the makers of this film, for some reason, decided to drag it out for another hour. This was rather pointless and I was beginning to get restless towards the end. The acting was not great either, but it cannot have been easy for the Affleck et al with such a poor script so abundant with cliches. Despite these faults though, Pear Harbour was great fun, packed with top action sequences and likeable, if a little cheesey, main characters. I recommend it to anyone who has three hours to spare, and wants to watch an entertaining film without thinking too hard about it.