Well Done!

Rating: Null/10 (25 May 2001)

Pearl Harbor does a lot right. It's romantic, corny, moving, jaw-dropping, and likably long.
The young cast does extremely well, handling the heavy lifting of occasionally squishy dialog with aplomb. Kate Beckinsale does another of her amazing American accents and has a pretty-as-pie face of freckles. Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett ooze Norman Rockwell goodness and patriotic heroism, even as they, as fictional characters, accomplish what real-life pilots did at Pearl and over Tokyo. The supporting cast as pilots, nurses, and others squeeze out the kind of believable characters one expects of Golden Age films.
They're helped, as you'll see, by photography, sets, and costumes that capture the era beautifully (as my wife says, "That nurse sure looked like a Petty girl). They will be nominated for Oscars. As will at least one actor: Jon Voight as FDR.
Michael Bay almost steps into Spielbergian schmaltz from time to time, but never makes the emotional mistakes Spielberg can't help but make. This is his best big-bucks feature. The after-the-attack scenes of carnage of care are particularly moving.
Faults? Hans Zimmer's score is serviceable, but no more (the "torpedo" theme, as I call it, being an example). And his love theme sounds like John Barry throwing spaghetti at a wall (OK, not as good). Zimmer can do heroic themes, but I didn't find them here.
While Pearl Harbor is not quite as good as From Here to Eternity in terms of story nor as Tora Tora Tora in terms of history (its 1970 effects hold their own against those of 2001's Pearl Harbor), I recommend it without reservation. I may even see it again.
PS: The Japanese are not treated dishonorably in my opinion.