Let us forget this ever happened and if not then remember the special effects

Rating: 4/10 (15 January 2005)

Michael Bay, not the greatest of directors it's fair to say but always blows us away with his action sequences in Bad Boys 1+2 and Armageddon and even Pearl Harbour set's us all up for a great entertainment but with a Story like Pearl Harbour is Michael Bay really the best choice director? In my opinion then answer is no and after first seeing Pearl Harbour I thought he actually did quite a good job. The action was excellent, the sets were very standard and expected, some actors were better than others, I'm talking about Josh Harnett acting the pants off Ben Affleck. Kate Beckinsale was very good as Eve but after viewing it twice there was something definitely concerning me, the script.
This film portrays America as people who don't like to admit to their history and what's happened to them in the past. The ego of this gradually gets bigger and bigger the more the film s goes on. One scene in particular that really rubbed me up the wrong way and others that I have consulted with is when Rafe is writing Eve a letter home and a British pilot comes up to him and commends him on his piloting and then says or something along the lines "If Germany goes to war with America, god help them", I'm sure there was a point the screenwriter was trying to make but I sure as hell didn't get it, there are other scenes which I could go on about but I'm sure you already know of them so I will now judge the film on other points.
As far as action goes like I said before, it is amazing and the bombing of Pearl Harbour is really a cinematic experience. Everything apart from the Pearl Harbour invasion is very badly directed. It shows that Michael Bay doesn't really have a connection with his actors like Scorsese and De Niro do. The script is nothing but god awful. The dialogue apart from being cheesy is just terrible, it really makes the actors not do a good job when you got someone saying lines like "Japan realised they were no match for America and turn their forces back", what's that all about, it maybe true but there's no need to rub it in, that's just careless and not really something you should put in to a film like this. I was hoping to see a film that would show how much WW2 destroyed so many lives but it just seems to show how great America is and how well they can.
This is also the downfall of Ben Affleck. Armageddon was very enjoyable and his cheesy performance was just manageable by Bruce Willis stealing the show but here there is no forgiving him for his bad performance. Towards the end of the film he starts to act well but right up to the moment the Pearl Harbour invasion happens I thought he was poor, Kate Beckinsale wasn't far behind and poor Josh Harnett must have been black mailed into this because I think his performance is the best though has a few moments which I would rather turn my head in embarrassment.
Michael Bay's action sequences do save the film but his direction in other places is needed by somebody who knows how to deal with his or hers actors and actresses and get the best of them, Pearl Harbour sadly does not have any sign of that ever happening. It's fair to say that no one's career has gone on to better things since apart from Jerry Bruckhimer and at least he can say "I never directed and starred in it so don't blame me", clever these producers aren't they? Effects can only save this film with a nice soundtrack to go on top but no one will remembering this film