Spectacular Action That Disgraces History

Rating: 4/10 (2 August 2006)

Oh Michael Bay. How the world loves to bash your films for being devoid of plot, character development and anything which could be remotely described as intelligent. So why a 4 and not a 1? I'll explain that in a minute.
First let me say that I love Michael Bay films for what they are. Mindless action movies that you can unplug your brain to. If I wanted to see great character development I'd pick something from the Michael Mann collection. If I wanted to see awesome martial arts, I'd make sure Yuen Wo Ping was the fight choreographer. If I wanted a great story... well you get the idea. When I want explosions devoid of plot, I turn to Michael Bay. This is why when I heard he was directing Pearl Harbor I immediately became sick to my stomach.
Michael Bay, you have disgraced history, disgraced anyone who fought off the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, disgraced anyone who survived the incident and you did it all to make the explosions look prettier. To alter the incidents which took place at Pearl Harbor and expect people to respect you is asking for it big time. Would you do the same with a film about the World Trade Center Twin Towers? When it comes to making movies regarding events in history that involved a great loss of life, people demand that you stick to the facts.
This is where Pearl Harbor fails miserably. Disregarding facts to increase the length of action sequences was a bad move. Things like playing chicken with P40s? Give me a break. Playing chicken and successfully taking out 4 Zeros in the process? Embellishments like increasing the death toll where it counts in order to further the emotional impact is also a big no no. I'm referring to on screen death of a Navy Nurse.
The actors themselves seem out of place and miscast. Whereas Hartnett was excellent in Black Hawk Down as Sgt. Eversman he seemed like a lost 12 year old kid here who was more afraid of Afflecks accent and acting than the Japanese. Affleck...well...Affleck. Kate Beckinsale is a looker but she has no place in a film like this. In fact the whole love triangle has no place in a film like this. Hollywood needs to understand that good films fill seats and that relying on big names will only work for so long. Time to start casting the right people for the right role.
Plot wise and with regards to accuracy, this movie is garbage. Typical Bay fanfare. Someone didn't do their homework as Mitchel Field was spelled with two Ls. Hartnett's line "I think World War II just started" when WWI was still referred to as "The Great War" in those times. Factual inaccuracies like this are inexcusable. More importantly, World War II did not begin with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was preempted when Japan invaded China in '37 and began in '39 when Germany invaded Poland. Why does Hollywood assume history always revolves around the United States?
Now with all of that being said, you're probably wondering again why I gave this film 4 stars. In my opinion Michael Bay has succeeded in creating what are arguably some of the finest action sequences ever, despite the fact that they are horribly inaccurate. Because it's Pearl Harbor I have no tolerance for ignoring history. It's a shame really. If Bay had stuck to history, this movie would have won academy awards left and right. The action was amazing (aside from the occasional X-Wing handling capabilities which I didn't know MEs, P40s, Spitfires and Zeros possessed). Because of the fantastic direction regarding the action, I gave this film an extra 3 stars. But this doesn't excuse the horrible plot and blatant disregard for the facts (geez how many times have I said that). In the end, Pearl Harbor is a pitiful Hollywood trash film with explosive but unrealistic action sequences that pay no attention to history.
Michael Bay, you make wonderfully entertaining popcorn action flicks, but for the sake of mankind please stay away from history.