Pearl Harbor (2001)

Starring: Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale
Director: Michael Bay
Rating: PG-13

Studio: Touchstone

Review Posted: 5.25.01

Spoilers: Minor/Major

Reviewed by Steve Tradd

"Pearl Harbor Is A Great Film"

Wow!  I am still excited about "Pearl Harbor," the new film from Michael Bay, and Jerry Bruckheimer. What a great film!  I have not felt such a range of emotions since Titanic (which I didn't even like that much). I have read some reviews from major newspapers, and they totally rip into the beginning and the end of the film. What to they expect, a film just about bombs? If Disney made that film, then they would complain that the film was too simple! Well, Pearl Harbor was anything but simple, with fantastic special effects (I could not tell the CGI and the non-CGI parts apart!), a great story, and great acting, I don't know how anyone could dislike this film.

The film starts off with two young boys playing airplanes, it then jumps 20 years and those two boys are now young men in the Navy. Slowly the story unfolds into a very sweet love story. After this I am going to be vague because I don't want to give anything away. A love triangle then forms, the bombs are dropped, and an attack on Japan finishes off the film. The acting in this film is fantastic! Cuba Gooding, Jr. has a great bit part, Jon Voight does a great FDR, and Alec Baldwin plays a convincing flight trainer. The Major actors also do fine jobs, as Ben Affleck does not disgrace the film and actually does a decent job. The real shining star is Kate Beckinsale. I have never heard of her, but she is elegant, tender, and sweet! I think she's gonna be a big time movie star after this film.

The special effects set a new precedent! They are truly amazing, because I have never been able to discern between CGI and non-CGI! The entire film is gorgeous, every single scene has the perfect lighting, and everything moves the right way. Because of this, you are immersed into the film.

YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE, IT IS FANTASTIC! You will laugh, cry and be shocked and disgusted, though you will want to sit through it all over again. Pearl Harbor is a great film and will probably be the biggest film this summer!

Rating: 9 out of 10  |  Read Review #2

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