Pearl Harbor (2001)

War | 183 minutes

3,09 3.737 votes

+ My vote

3 comments

Genre: War / Romance

Duration: 183 minuten

Country: United States

Directed by: Michael Bay

Stars: Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale

IMDb score: 6,3 (366.683)

Releasedate: 21 May 2001

Pearl Harbor plot

"It takes a moment to change history. It takes love to change lives."

Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker have known each other since childhood and both have dreams of becoming a pilot in the United States Air Force. When they can finally apply and be approved, Danny is assigned to a flight squadron at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Rafe volunteers to join an air squadron in England to fight against the Nazis. In addition to Danny, he also leaves behind his girlfriend Evelyn Johnson, whom he met during the medical examination, in the US. Rafe is shot over the Channel and when he recovers from his wounds, he returns to Evelyn in Pearl Harbor. However, Evelyn turns out to be having an affair with his best friend. The idyllic life in Hawaii is shattered when the Japanese attack the military fleet in the harbor of Pearl Harbor and the military airports on the island with a surprise attack.

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Ben Affleck

Anthony Fusco

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3 COMMENTS

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IH88

9723 messages
3181 votes

5 October 2016 at 18:04

“A brilliant man would find a way not to fight a war.”

I've always had a soft spot for this movie. The film is way too long, too much time is spent in a love triangle and the dialogues are at times terribly corny. Yet Pearl Harbor does have its charm due to the beautiful atmosphere created by Bay (Hawaii, hello), the humor and drama that alternate effortlessly and of course the action scenes with the bombing of Pearl Harbor as an impressive climax.

I actually liked the side characters more than the three main characters. That's not because of Affleck, Hartnett and Beckinsale (they are excellent) but because of their somewhat one-dimensional characters. Affleck and Beckinsale have quite a chemistry but why the makers then choose to Hartnett and Beckinsale together I still don't understand after all these years. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor there is also a very long part with the counterattack of the Americans and this part is also exciting and very entertaining. Alec Baldwin in particular is really brilliant here. Despite the many negatives, Pearl Harbor remains a more than entertaining whole.

Translated from Dutch · View original

Onderhond

87585 messages
12832 votes

23 October 2016 at 22:59

Lesser Bay.

Took me a little too long. Actually, the film should have stopped after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but of course the cinema audience must have its revenge for a while. Unfortunately, Bay still needs 45 minutes of film for that. He then uses it gratefully to give the romance an anxious push in the right direction, a bit cowardly.

What surprised me was that the film portrayed Japanese power with some nuance. Normally they are portrayed as the cowardly kamikazes, Bay makes time to bring a more honorable character into the picture. Crazy in a movie that is otherwise mostly American patriotism.

The war scenes are the ones where Bay clearly enjoys the most. The romance is corny and drags on indefinitely. I think I've also seen an exact copy in another film, although I can't immediately remember which one that would have been.

180 minutes is just too much, especially since half of the film doesn't actually work. Lots of visual bravado, yes, but when it's not accompanied by the necessary action, Bay doesn't look too sharp. He had better focus on the things in which how is good, something he would fortunately realize later.

2.0*

Translated from Dutch · View original

Brotherlord Acid

13 messages
12 votes

1 February 2019 at 17:49

Horrible!!! Another "Real American Action Hero" movie with all the predictable clichés, sugary music, too many American flags and not historically substantiated "lies". It's a love story that drips off the screen with gluttony. The only thing that is well portrayed is the attack on Pearl Harbor itself and the "dogfights" in this film can also be called quite spectacular. Unfortunately, these images are not enough to get an extra star from me. The last phase in the film in which the "Doolittle raid" is discussed, was the moment that I almost wanted to turn off this film. As the Veronica review said, "The explosions act better than the actors..."

For the real story, I refer you to the film "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970)

Still one and a half (bleached) stars for the effort...

Translated from Dutch · View original