There are only minimal explanations as to why the Japanese felt they had no choice but to attack, and there are only a few mentions that support the theory that the U.S. might have prevented the invasion entirely. The film might have done better with a more expository approach similar to what Thirteen Days attempted to uncover about the Bay of Pigs incident. Director Michael Bay and cinematographer John Schwartzman have done exceedingly well with their composition. So many shots look as though they were ripped right from the pages of Life magazine, a detail I really enjoyed. Like examining old Polaroids from my father's Coast Guard scrapbook, the sunny hues of some of the first colored photographs are mixed in with the primarily black and white photos.
Bay has no problem getting the era right.
Too bad the script is so lame. Honestly, the story is gripping without the melodramatic love triangle crap getting in the way. But the older movie-goer will recall a gentler Hollywood that entertained us for years with dialogue like this. I have to admit I loved the old war movies, especially the ones that starred real war hero Audie Murphy in them. It goes to show that audiences have changed so much that more often than not the old formulas just don't work anymore.