if only...

Rating: 3/10 (2 July 2001)

(some spoiling ahead)
This could have been a good movie, if only... ...the love story wasn't so shallow. if you have two guys fighting over the same girl, one of them has to make way. Forever. ...the love story wasn't so shallow. So Rafe is lost and believed dead, but -surprise!- turns up again. ...Ben Affleck's character was more sympathetic to the audience. This guy keeps moaning and groaning about his best friend stealing his girl while he was dead. Anyone can understand the Danny-character, this Rafe is a sad guy. He was dead! What would you, witnessing audience, have done?! ...they hadn't divided it so clearly into pre-bombing, bombing and after-bombing. Now everyone is waiting for the first part to be over and get to the action, and after the action everybody's bored again. Some people actually left after two hours. ...the scenes where you're supposed to cry, make you cry. Now we have some violins by Hans Zimmer pretending to orchestrate Titanic, but no tears. It's way too theatrical. See also: shallow love story. ...someone could explain to me what Cuba Gooding jr. is doing here. His storyline has nothing to do with the major plotline of the film: the shallow love story. And why does he always play these 'I-am-a-true-and-honest-fighter-for-the-good-cause-which-is-banning-racism'- character? He did the same trick in Men of Honor and it didn't work there too. ...if only there wasn't so much American chauvinism in this film. You (they) pulled the trick with Men of Honor and I could barely live through it, but why here again? This is an international released film, and why do we foreigners always have to see what a brave men and women those Americans are? ...the American flag wasn't shown so obviously waving in slow-motion in the wind. We all look what it looks like... ...the woman's voice didn't lecture me afterwards. I am seeing a film to be entertained, not to have a lesson in death counts and explanations of how America got into WW II. ...if only director Bay had taken more care about the acting of some figures. Kate Beckinsale runs to the hospital whilst avoiding bombs and bullets, and all with a look of extreme boredom on her face. Some major player has a piece of metal sticking out of his neck at the end, but still he moves his head up and down and sideways. That must really hurt... ...if only some sequences didn't look very similar to Titanic (see also music). Picking dead bodies out of the water and dozens of terrified people hanging from everything they can grab. And -oh- how original, this boat doesn't go down vertically, but it capsizes! Same effect and screaming people, but now featuring the full length of the ship! ...if only FDR and the Dolittle figure hadn't been such parodies of themselves. How brave and courageous, how strong and faithfull are these men! FDR shouldn't have been president, but Pope instead! Dolittle could then tackle business at the White House, adressing everyone to do the best they can because their country demands it.
but really. Apart from all this, the special effects and the airplane and flying sequences are pretty good.