could be worse

Rating: Null/10 (28 May 2001)

I was about to write a terrible review of this film, but on further reflection I thought otherwise. The movie, as it turns out, was better than I thought it was going to be. With Bruckhiemer at the helm, I totally thought the events of Dec 7, 1941 would be mangled into some kind of quasi American victory, complete with flag waving and people shouting, "follow me, men!"
For the most part, I feel as though Pearl Harbor accurately depicted the sound thrashing the Americans received on that day.
But I agree with most of the people here that the love story was pretty weak....possibly even lame.
Also, the final third of the movie could have been deleted. I just saw no point to it. It simply should have ended at Pearl Harbor. I don't think Bruckhiemer could have slept at night without showing the Americans scoring some kind of victory.
Furthermore, the naration at the end seems to indicate that the Doolittle raid on Tokyo is the turning point of the war. I think this just takes away from, and belittles the true turning point - the incredible Battle of Midway. I guess the Doolittle raid was easier to tack on the end than would Midway.
The one thing I wish this film had more of was the Japanese perspective. Although the film did touch on it a couple times, I wish we could have seen more planning of the attack. Or perhaps some of the private thoughts of the Japanese Admiralty and the regular soldiers as they sailed across the sea to attack the "sleeping giant". Were they brimming with confidence, nervous, or down-right scared as I would be?
As for the acting, it was fair considering the script they had to read from. John Voit was pretty good as FDR and I particularly enjoyed Dan Aykroyds character.
I guess this is a case of viewer beware. Don't go there expecting the Pacific version of Private Ryan. If you treat it for what it is, entertaining summer fare, you might enjoy it.