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Pearl Harbor 2001 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Michael Bay
PG-13, 184 min. (intense war sequences, sensuality, language) |
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Starring: Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, Ewen Bremner, Alec Baldwin, James King, Jon Voight, Cuba Gooding Jr., Mako, Dan Aykroyd, Tom Sizemore
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay
Screenplay: Randall Wallace
Cinematography: John Schwartzman
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Released: 5.21.01 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
You could almost see it coming. Director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, known for such pomp as Armageddon
and Bad Boys, decided to tackle a difficult subject such as Pearl Harbor maybe to break out of the mold of their past films. Well, it
didn't take more than about 30 minutes into this film to realize that wasn't going to happen. A lot of the blame for their
failure here is screenwriter Randall Wallace's woeful script - it's not just bad, it's awful. This is a movie filled with clichés and
idiotic dialogue that almost chokes the life out of it before we even get to the signature part of the film. However, despite its
many flaws, I actually enjoyed many parts of this film, especially the well-filmed segment of the attack on Pearl Harbor. In fact,
if they were to simply cut-out the first hour or so of the film, it becomes a good movie. Unfortunately, that isn't the case.
The film is broken up into three segments - a love story, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and a retaliation attack on Tokyo. The
first part, as mentioned before, is terrible. We are introduced to two young Tennessee farm boys, Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Danny (Josh Hartnett),
who dream of flying planes one day. Then we cut ahead to a few years before America is forced into the war, where Rafe (now an Army pilot)
meets a young nurse, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), and they fall in love following some ridiculous conversations. Their romance
is cut short, however, when Rafe volunteers to fight with the British Air Force against the Germans. Danny, also an army pilot,
is left behind with Evelyn, and, when word comes that Rafe has been killed in action, he makes his move on Evelyn. But when
Rafe unexpectedly (although we know he will) returns, a love triangle ensues. Thankfully, the story moves on the attack
on Pearl Harbor, which is very well done - we see the pre-attack, the attack, and the aftermath. This is the strength of the
film, and, not surprisingly, is director Michael Bay's forte. The final part of the movie is a daring mission to bomb Tokyo's
plane factories, and is also involving, even though we see the battle only through the eyes of the bombers. Predictably,
both Rafe and Danny are among the elite group of bombers, which are led by General Dolittle (Alec Baldwin). The end is
a bit awkward and leaves many questions unanswered, mainly how they got home, but is predictable for a summer film aimed
at money-making potential only.
The somewhat surprising part of the film is how well-acted it is - all three main characters are adequate (Affleck, Hartnett,
Beckinsale) and the supporting cast is top-notch (Jon Voight as President Roosevelt, Cuba Gooding Jr. as a black cook,
Tom Sizemore as a plane mechanic, and the aformentioned Baldwin). Kate Beckinsale delivers a strong performance, even
though she is limited by the screenwriting, and brings some depth to her character. Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin are especially
strong, with strong presences every time they are on the screen. Imagine what these actors could have done with an intelligent
script.
The factual accounts of the attack on Pearl Harbor are somewhat misleading. As a few mentioned to me during the film, the
attack took place very early in the morning, meaning that boys playing baseball and women doing laundry as the Japanese
planes fly by is a bit implausible. Other problems also exist, such as the insulting explanation of why the Japanese attacked Pearl
Harbor in the first place - they didn't have any choice because of the U.S. cutting off their oil supply? But I'm not sure this
movie is supposed to be completely accurate - it's more of an emotional roller-coaster with the war as a backdrop.
The comparisons between Pearl Harbor and Titanic are unavoidable. But where Titanic engrossed the audience in a believable
love story set in the tragedy of a sinking ship, Pearl Harbor sinks even faster than the actual Titanic with its so-called love
story and convenient resolution of it. Titanic is a classic, Pearl Harbor is not. And while you actually cared about the characters
in Titanic, you can't honestly say the same about Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor is a frustrating experience because of the potential that it had. With a budget of around $135
million, you would think that a little better story could have been developed along with the millons being spent on special
effects. Although the special effects and battle sequences are impressive, it's just not enough to make up for the colossal failure
of convenient storytelling and shameful clichés. Pearl Harbor will do well in theaters - it will probably make a fortune,
but undoubtedly many people leaving the theater will decide that this a film that falls into the category of "what might have been," or, quite simply,
that it's just a bad film.
© 2001 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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