Genres: Action | Drama | Romance | War Countries: USA Actors: Ben Affleck Capt. Rafe McCawley Josh Hartnett Capt. Danny Walker Kate Beckinsale Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson Cuba Gooding Jr. Petty Officer Doris Miller Jon Voight President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Alec Baldwin Lt. Col. James Doolittle Tom Sizemore Sgt. Earl Sistern William Lee Scott Lt. Billy Thompson Greg Zola Lt. Anthony Fusco Ewen Bremner Lt. Red Winkle Jaime King Nurse Betty Bayer Catherine Kellner Nurse Barbara Jennifer Garner Nurse Sandra Sara Rue Nurse Martha Michael Shannon Lt. Gooz Wood Directors: Michael Bay IMDB Rating: 5 out of 10 (66383 votes)

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Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay launched a full out attack on moviegoers on May 25th. “Pearl Harbor” exploded onto the big screen with an impressive publicity campaign that had fans, websites, and other media outlets, counting down the days until its Memorial Day Weekend release. “Pearl Harbor’s” approved budget of $145 million made it the biggest movie budget ever to get greenlit. The approved $145 million had to be knocked down to $135 after Joe Roth left Disney to run Revolution Studios. Bay and Bruckheimer waived their front-end salaries to squeeze in under the new budget, and Ben Affleck agreed to work for the low upfront salary of $250,000, and a share of the profits - if there ends up being any. Moviegoers will ultimately determine whether the $135+ million budget was spent wisely, and whether the film is a rip-off of America’s history or a fitting tribute to the men and women who served our country during wartime.

While most of the publicity has centered around the battle scenes and the reenactment of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the movie itself is more of a love story in which there just happens to be a war breaking out. Ben Affleck stars as Rafe, a cocky fighter pilot who lives to fly. Josh Hartnett is his lifelong buddy, Danny, an equally talented flyer, and Rafe’s polar opposite in the personality department. He’s mild-mannered, humble, even a bit of an introvert. Their friendship has endured since their youth, growing up together on a farm, dreaming of becoming pilots. Both end up as pilots stationed together in the U.S. Air Force, honing their talents and chomping at the bit to put their fighter pilot skills to the test in actual combat.

Kate Beckinsale, looking beautiful and straight out of a 1940’s glamour magazine, is Evelyn, the nurse who wins the hearts of both Rafe and Danny. Rafe meets her first during an examination to determine fitness for duty. He charms and clowns his way into a date, and the two fall quickly in love. Rafe leaves Evelyn and Danny behind when he volunteers for a tour of duty with the British Royal Air Force. As a member of the highly respected “Eagle Squadron,” Rafe battles the Nazis while America remains uninvolved in combat. Word reaches Danny in Pearl Harbor that Rafe has been shot down and is presumed dead. Danny and Evelyn eventually turn to each other for comfort, and wind up in each other’s arms.

The love story consumes a good two-thirds of the film with military maneuverings and the attack on Pearl Harbor taking a backseat to the romance. True, the love story is a bit clichéd and the history lesson included in the film is oversimplified. However, as “Saving Private Ryan” proved so stunningly able to do, this film brings the war and the honorable men and women who lived through it or died fighting it, back to the collective forefront of the minds of audiences who, prior to the film, may not recall much about the battle. Chances are good an overwhelming percentage of filmgoers who pay to see this romantic drama based on the devastatingly real event, weren’t even alive on December 7, 1941.

The film alternates between gritty realism and moments of levity. Real historical figures Col. James H. Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) and Doris “Dorie” Miller (Cuba Gooding, Jr. in a minor role that should have been given more screen time) are sprinkled throughout the film, adding a touch of authenticity to the daring-do of the main fictional characters portrayed by Affleck and Hartnett. Baldwin and Gooding both steal scenes whenever their characters are involved in the action. The romance is one that’s been done before, but it’s affective, entertaining, and beautiful nonetheless. The battle scenes are impressive and overwhelming in their ability to seemingly transport you back in time. I’d recommend this to anyone who isn’t looking for an exact retelling of history but is interested in a gripping fictional account of the months leading up to the start of America’s involvement in World War II.

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On a personal note, I watched the battle scenes in “Pearl Harbor” with trepidation and awe. My father was stationed aboard the USS San Francisco in dry-dock at Pearl Harbor on that day that will live in infamy. His ship wasn’t battle-ready and as such, he and his shipmates couldn’t do much to help fight off the attack. I was never much interested in his military background being that I was born long after he’d moved on to teaching at one of our local navy bases. He never spoke much about Pearl Harbor, only to say that it was a devastating massacre and something he’d never shake from the forefront of his memories. He was reading the comics in the newspaper that day, and up until the day he passed away, he never read the comics again. The actual attack scenes in the film made my heart race and raised goose bumps along my spine. Through the magic of film I was able to relive that time, while sitting in a darkened theatre alongside the memory of my dad. If for no other reason than that, I’d see this film again and again.

Rebecca Murray
Hollywood Movies Guide

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