I really don’t know where to begin with this review. After sitting through some 195 odd minutes watching Pearl Harbor, it occured to me that the film was a lot like Armageddon, The Battle of Britain & Memphis Belle all rolled into one. With Jerry Bruckheimer as producer along with Michael Bay in the director’s chair, I knew it was going to be one hell of an explosive experience. Judging from the action seen in Armageddon, I would have expected no less. I mean, if John Woo’s known for the gun-drawn aerial protagonist caught in slow-motion trick, then Michael Bay’s got to have his crowd-pleasing explosions.
And this movie does have lots of them. Too many that I lost count, with much of it concentrated during the later half after the Japanese sneak attack.

Knowing guys, of course, I’m pretty sure they’d find this to be the best part from watching all those ships getting blown up & Japanese Zeros being shot down. On the other hand, chicks would probably enjoy the ‘slower-moving’ romantic aspects centered around the 3 main characters. But as far as chemistry goes, I would hardly call it slow-moving at all. The whole love affair looked so rushed to the point that you’d hardly be able to catch it in the blink of an eye. Let me give you a rundown here. Ben Affleck’s character, Rafe McCawley gets a syringe stuck up his butt, courtesy of some cute nurse named Evelyn ( Kate Beckinsale ) and before you could even reach for that popcorn, they’ve already started on their naughty base run. No candle-lit dinners, long walks in the park or any of that traditional crap. The film cuts straight to the point in getting these 2 lovebirds together within the shortest possible time.

But all that was about to end when Rafe decides he wanted to be a hero by volunteering for some RAF action against the overwhelmingly superior Luftwaffe. Leaving his other half behind in the hands of his best friend, Danny ( Josh Hartnett ), it doesn’t take much to figure out where the story’s headed. Later, upon receiving news of him being shot down over enemy territory, the inevitable was about to happen. Then all of a sudden, Rafe shows up again, right before the Japanese arrive to find himself landing smack in the middle of a love triangle between his best friend and former flame. So, what’s a guy to do when faced with such a situation? Simple, load up on the booze & let his fists do the talking, or as I would like to call it, taking the Mel Gibson route.

Before long, the Japanese begin arriving in their Zeros followed by a whole lot of trademark Michael Bay explosions. From fighter planes to aircraft hangars and even whole battleships, nothing is spared from the explosive onslaught. I initially thought the film was going to end right after the Japanese bombings but this was exactly where it started picking up again, like the second part of that Final Fantasy 6 video game. This second chapter deals with the American revenge attack on Tokyo, which incidentally, looked a lot to me like a shorter variation of Memphis Belle. The bomb runs, anti-aircraft guns, & emergency crash landings make this part seem all too familiar for those of you who’s seen MB.

With much of the film devoted to the main storyline, the numerous side plots were still highly still noticeable in their own right. Each of these focused on events surrounding 3 supporting characters, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto ( Mako ), President Roosevelt ( Jon Voight ) & Navy cook, Dorie Miller ( Cuba Gooding Jr ). But still, in the presence of such great talent, Pearl Harbor, like any other big budgeted Hollywood production, had relied too heavily on special effects to stand itself on its feet. Hey, I’m not complaining here. For a movie built on such impressive production values, the SE were top notch to say the least. Adding to that, a great music score, Pearl Harbor should have no trouble in winning votes from virtually every age group in the audience. I have never found Hans Zimmer’s work the least disappointing and neither should anyone else. The guy’s just that good. Fans of his work might want to check out Backdraft ( 1991 ) as well, which soundtrack reputedly contains some of Zimmer’s best pieces.

And with the movie being made up of 2 parts woven into a single long-winded plot, it was clearly expected to stretch way past the 3 hour mark. But despite hovering around 195 minutes, the film was moving way too fast and as a result, many viewers may have felt its overly rushed nature. The producers tried containing too many events within this rather ‘short’ time span that would have otherwise required at least 4 hours to avoid looking too much like a runaway starship moving at warp speed. Additionally, the romance factor was not as solidly done as others like Titanic but nevertheless it was still a respectable effort from director Michael Bay. Knowing the nature of his films, of course, romance would always play second fiddle behind the trademark pulse-pounding action sequences that had made him such a hit with movie goers. In closing, I thought Pearl Harbor was actually a pretty good film, however if you’re looking for something with a little more beef ( & less expensive ) in it, I’d suggest picking up a copy of Armageddon at the local video store. Overall Rating: B


Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12