PEARL HARBOR- go in expecting the worst- COME OUT...AMAZED

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2001)

After reading all the bad and mediocre reviews for PEARL HARBOR, I've got to say I wasn't too keen on seeing it. I'd heard the acting was wooden, romance (love-triangle) boring and tacked-on, and the subplots forced... That was not what I believed after I'd left the theatre.
True, this movie is 3+ hours long and you may glance at your watch once- I did but that was 2+ hours into the movie- but Pearl Harbor delivered exactly what I wasn't expecting from a movie that was so poorly rated. I got heart-tugging romance, believable and enjoyable performances by the talented cast and a suspenseful and heart stopping war scene that had me biting my nails, gripping my seat and filling my eyes with tears. I don't know if it will have the same effect on ALL moviegoers- but I sure hope so. This movie was so much more powerful than titanic which I felt was good- but much overhyped (and undeserving of that oscar).Indeed it is very different from WW2 pix like Saving Private Ryan or ENEMY at the Gates, but those were WAR movies- those were about the coldness, brutality and utter annialation that is caused by such Global Feuds. PEARL HARBOR was about Patriotism, Love, Honor, and Sacrifice. It was more a big picture on the human spirit and an eye opener on the travesty that is WAR. Those who felt the romance was too much a part of the movie- it was NEEDED to show the characters warmth, weaknesses and love for each other. How do you expect to care about someone if you haven't got the chance to know them- I assure you that you will feel for each and every individual that inhabits this island. If you can't see the EPIC that is the movie- then I suppose you were one of the many people who enjoyed SHREK. PEARL HARBOR-was a movie I was happy to give 8 bucks too- Shrek... well I should've waited for the video. Pearl Harbor transported me back to 1941 where innocence was shattered and ignorance was severely punished... I was visually and emotionally blown away (pun intended:)
I went in with the lowest expectations and dry eyes, and I came out as a stunned and speechless American, so proud... so sad... But so Happy I'd seen this movie after all. Don't beleive the reviews or the critics- see for yourself and you'll see what I mean.