Pearl Harbor

About one third of the way through this mess, my daughter left her friends and came to me for some money to go to the concession stand. I asked her if they were selling pillows there. This is one of the longest movies I have ever sat through (at least that's what my back tells me). It has some of the worst writing I have ever heard. The set-up and the romantic intrigues are predictable and uninteresting. There is absolutely no suspense. The whole plot is contrived. Oh, yes, there is an endless attack by the Japanese, but by the time it happened, my mind was wandering. As far as those tragic lovers, I thought I was watching a bunch of eighth grade girls and boys ticked off because she said he said she said, whatever!! Then, of course, we have Jimmy Doolittle, going on his raid to make up for what those guys did to us. What a slap in the face to the real event. How can a director with 135 million dollars make the attack on Pearl Harbor dull. Yes, it probably looked like that. Those bombers and fighters moving clandestinely in on the island--destroying the fleet with no conscience. What about a script? What about the building of some sort of momentum? How about focusing on the realistic politics of the time and seeing the world from both sides. I was so disappointed in this film. People wonder why it's so expensive to go to the movies these days. It's because the studios are footing the bill for this kind of bilge!

The film opens in 1923 and shows farm boys Rafe and Danny as close friends in Tennessee, who share a passion for flying... They join the United States Army Air Corps in 1941 and both show an ability at being daring pilots while training under the command of Jimmy Doolittle, in Long Island...

Their life is changed when they encounter a beautiful dedicated nurse called Evelyn Johnson...

Rafe falls for Evelyn and volunteers for service in the Battle of Britain… He continues his love affair by letters with Evelyn who ends up with Danny in Hawaii - Pearl Harbor, where the US Pacific fleet is gathered at rest...

News comes back that he was shot down over the English Channel, and assumed dead… Keenly distressed, Evelyn eventually finds relief in the arms of Danny... They go too far, too soon, leading to exactly what you would expect...

By the time that Rafe reappears, Evelyn is in love with Danny…

Kate Beckinsale brings warmth and intelligent sweetness to her character... She is quietly at a loss, holding back her tears, when she finds out she must choose between the two charming fighters she loves...

The film honors those who underwent Pearl Harbor…The great shots plunge viewers into mass destruction, chaos and incompetence... We see hundreds of Japanese planes approaching towards their unsuspecting targets… Sailors sauntering along the decks of their moored vessels when the torpedo planes, armed with special shallow-running devices, headed for the battleships, their prime targets…

Bay's cameras move sometimes fast, and sometimes in slow motion to show the savage blow… Scenes, out of focus, evoke the sense of disorientation and fear, also of bravery in the midst of confusion in the island's base hospital...

'Pearl Harbor' is a fight between love and glory against a backdrop of America's entry into World War II... The film has some moments of excitement and grandeur…

Schwartzman gets some extremely nice-looking scenes of the Hawaiian twilight... His shots of Kate—sitting atop a rock, reading Rafe's love-letters, totally unaware to the striking Hawaiian surf that threatens to pull her out to sea—are incredibly beautiful

I've never written a review before but after seen how many people are saying this film I thought I better. I actually think the film was great the main premise of the film which I feel most people have completely missed is a bond between two guys that is as strong as a brotherhood hood. The alpha one who has the confidence to take over the world and the quiter one both who would die for each other in an instance. And maybe it was just me but I really did feel the emotions that they feel throughout the film. It seems like a lot of people hate the film so maybe I'm missing something but i think its a great film. The film is not totally accurate but films don't need to be and I film is long which is the reason I suspect it gets so much hate.

First things first, the fact that many of the posters only show Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale is a travesty. Josh Hartnett's Danny is the heart and soul of this film and one of the driving forces for this review to be more positive than negative.

Pearl Harbor is a fascinating film. On one side, you have the incredible action sequences that depict the devastation of the events of December 7, 1941. On the other side, there is an abundance of melodramatic romance that becomes tiring and cumbersome. The problem is that the action sequences are only about 1/4 of the film, where the romance is the other 3/4. If that was flipped, I think Pearl Harbor would have much better reviews and would have resonated more with audiences.

Best Character: Danny Best Quote: "No, you are" - Danny Best Scene: December 7th Best Piece of Score: "Tennessee.

(Please excuse my French, it's probably wrong) Roll up, roll up! See the cinematic spectacle of 2001! See the horrible deaths of 2500 or so people commemorated by a film about two guys who fly fast planes really fast. See them go ZOOOOOOOOM, see them go WHIIIIZZZZ! See them reprise the 'flypast and debriefing' scenes from Top Gun. Watch the beautiful love story unfold. See the true love two people have for one another tested and broken when Kate Beckinsale comes between them. See a fine young actor reduced to playing Token Black Guy. Watch as he fights to prove he's more than a Token Black Guy, even though he's given so little to do that he ends up as nothing more than a Token Black Guy (even though, unlike the two guys in the planes, Token Black Guy actually existed). Watch the awful bombing of a military target. Watch the heroic bombing of a city. Watch Jon Voigt recreate Peter Sellars' unforgettable character Dr. Strangelove. Watch the whole reality of war, and the lives and deaths therein trivialised to make a Big Dumb Action Movie that thinks it's some kind of ghastly tribute to the American dead of December the 7th. Or better still... don't! On the other hand, if you want an unrealistic film with ponderously paced romance, fighter planes zooming all over the place and nice explosions, check this out. It's a lot of fun. Just don't take it seriously - you'll only encourage them!