I'm not that much of a Bay hater, heck I like Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, and I actually do like the first Transformers movie. Well there are some missteps from him like The Island, I thought Bad Boys II was okay, Transformers 2 & 4, and Pain & Gain. This movie however....yeah....let's start with the good already.
The only good things about this movie were the effects, production design and the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor scene. That was a pretty emotional scene and a intense one, it was well shot and the action was well done. If it wasn't ruined by everything else.
Now the bad.
The acting is stiff as a wooden stick. They had talented actors in this movie, and only three of them (Aykroyd, Voight,and Gooding Jr.) did a valid job. The direction has no soul at all. The writing and dialog were cheesy as all hell. The Japanese (not to be racist) were nothing but stereotypes. And it's way too long. But none of them are the biggest problem with this movie. The biggest problem with this movie is the romance between Affleck, Harnett and Beckinsale being the main focus of the entire movie. They're obviously Jack and Rose from Titanic, except they are in Hawaii, it's the WWII era, you have another copy of Jack Dawson, and they're played by Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. Plus, the only reason why the couple from Titanic worked in the first place is because the couple are in the RMS Titanic. This couple here are not in the Pearl Harbor most of the time, so why is this movie called Pearl Harbor then?
It should have focus on two friends or two brothers (it doesn't matter if one of them might be gay) working at the Pearl Harbor and after the attack from the Japanese, they had to go to Japan to drop a nuclear bomb but before they go there, they had to tell their girlfriend that they may not be back alive and that kinda stuff. Now that should be the movie, but nope, we got to have a love triangle, as if that we have never seen this stuff in a long time.
It's also blatantly inaccurate to the actual event. I mean like (spoilers!) I don't remember hearing about the Japanese planes attacking the hospital right next to the Pearl Harbor in my history class, because that never happened. It was stupid, insulting to the people who want to know about the attack and it's disrespectful to the people who either died or survived the Pearl Harbor attack. These kinds of things are why Michael Bay should never make a drama epic or a historical epic because he's more of a action oriented filmmaker, not a filmmaker that take things serious. But I know that they weren't making a documentary but you got to get the history right, Michael Bay, other than the time line.
Overall:
You know the sad thing about this movie is that I am a fan of war epics. I like movies from Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket or Platoon or Saving Private Ryan or any decent war epic out there. And I do like the historical drama genre. Stuff like Schindler's List, The Last Emperor, and heck I actually hate to admit that I did like Titanic. This one however, was by far the worst war epic and the worst historical drama epic (combined) that I have ever seen because even if the director may not be like Spielberg for drama, it had the potential to be a good movie. But I was not so pleased with this movie. If you want a Pearl Harbor movie, I'll suggest go watch Tora! Tora! Tora! or any documentary about the Pearl Harbor attack. This movie will disappoint you or let go of your interest about the tragic event.
Score: 2.3/10
The only good things about this movie were the effects, production design and the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor scene. That was a pretty emotional scene and a intense one, it was well shot and the action was well done. If it wasn't ruined by everything else.
Now the bad.
The acting is stiff as a wooden stick. They had talented actors in this movie, and only three of them (Aykroyd, Voight,and Gooding Jr.) did a valid job. The direction has no soul at all. The writing and dialog were cheesy as all hell. The Japanese (not to be racist) were nothing but stereotypes. And it's way too long. But none of them are the biggest problem with this movie. The biggest problem with this movie is the romance between Affleck, Harnett and Beckinsale being the main focus of the entire movie. They're obviously Jack and Rose from Titanic, except they are in Hawaii, it's the WWII era, you have another copy of Jack Dawson, and they're played by Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. Plus, the only reason why the couple from Titanic worked in the first place is because the couple are in the RMS Titanic. This couple here are not in the Pearl Harbor most of the time, so why is this movie called Pearl Harbor then?
It should have focus on two friends or two brothers (it doesn't matter if one of them might be gay) working at the Pearl Harbor and after the attack from the Japanese, they had to go to Japan to drop a nuclear bomb but before they go there, they had to tell their girlfriend that they may not be back alive and that kinda stuff. Now that should be the movie, but nope, we got to have a love triangle, as if that we have never seen this stuff in a long time.
It's also blatantly inaccurate to the actual event. I mean like (spoilers!) I don't remember hearing about the Japanese planes attacking the hospital right next to the Pearl Harbor in my history class, because that never happened. It was stupid, insulting to the people who want to know about the attack and it's disrespectful to the people who either died or survived the Pearl Harbor attack. These kinds of things are why Michael Bay should never make a drama epic or a historical epic because he's more of a action oriented filmmaker, not a filmmaker that take things serious. But I know that they weren't making a documentary but you got to get the history right, Michael Bay, other than the time line.
Overall:
You know the sad thing about this movie is that I am a fan of war epics. I like movies from Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket or Platoon or Saving Private Ryan or any decent war epic out there. And I do like the historical drama genre. Stuff like Schindler's List, The Last Emperor, and heck I actually hate to admit that I did like Titanic. This one however, was by far the worst war epic and the worst historical drama epic (combined) that I have ever seen because even if the director may not be like Spielberg for drama, it had the potential to be a good movie. But I was not so pleased with this movie. If you want a Pearl Harbor movie, I'll suggest go watch Tora! Tora! Tora! or any documentary about the Pearl Harbor attack. This movie will disappoint you or let go of your interest about the tragic event.
Score: 2.3/10