Hollow tribute

Rating: 3/10 (25 June 2001)

There are some mesmerizing scenes in this movie, such as when two boyscouts taking care of their natural needs spy the fleet of zeros gliding grimly by or when a band of nurses in their haste to save their patients lives cut their slings and let their damaged limbs just fall and crash painfully down... More of this sort of magic would have been much appreciated. This seems to show the human element involved on that "Day of Infamy" artistically and poignantly, whereas the thin layer of the Titanic Love Story Redeux (only this time, the two men are friends!!) stands apart as a shallow and transparent farce in contrast. And our two mavericks, Ben and Josh, hooping and hollering while the survivors below cheer them on do little to inspire any reverence for the real battle of that day, the battle of sheer survival. I was hoping we'd see the frantic rescue of a few of the crewmen in the USS Arizona's tower, but apparently there was not that kind of time to spare in this three hour, sprawling decadance. And why not spend a little more time on the Arizona's sinking. These men who still breathed for several hours before their ship became their tomb are never even really seen. As for the workings of the love triangle,Ben Affleck's character, if he survived in occupied France thanks to the kindness of strangers, could have relied on them to post a coded letter or two, methinks.