Jennifer Garner Movie:

Editorial Review:
To call Pearl Harbor a throwback to old-time war movies is something of an understatement. Director Michael Bay's epic take on the bombing that brought the United States into World War II hijacks every war movie situation and cliché (some affectionate, some stale) you've ever seen and gives them a shiny, glossy spin until the whole movie practically gleams. Planes glisten, water sparkles, trees beckon--and Bay's re-creation of the bombing itself, a 30-minute sequence that's tightly choreographed and amazingly photographed, sets the action movie bar up quite a few notches. And in updating the classic war film, Bay and screenwriter Randall Wallace (Braveheart) use that old plot standby, the love triangle--this time, it's between two pilots (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) and a nurse (Kate Beckinsale) who find themselves stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, during what they thought would be a nice, sunny tour of duty. Then, of course, history intervened.

For the first 90 minutes of the movie, Affleck and Beckinsale find a nice, appealing chemistry that plays on his strengths as a movie star and hers as a serious actress--he gives her glamour, she gives him smarts. Their truncated romance--the beginning of which is told in flashback so we can get right to the point where he has to leave her to go to England--works, thanks to their charm. They're no Kate and Leo from Titanic (a strategy the film strives hard toward), but they're pretty darn adorable in their own right. Hartnett, as the not entirely unwelcome third wheel, squints bravely but makes only a slight dent in the film. Everyone else in Pearl Harbor--from Cuba Gooding Jr.'s brave navy seaman to Jon Voight's able impersonation of FDR--is pretty much a glorified walk-on, taking a backseat to the pyrotechnics and action sequences that keep the three-hour film in fairly constant motion. But when that action does take hold, Pearl Harbor is quite a thrilling ride. --Mark Englehart

Pearl Harbor [Region 2] Reviews:
ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS OF ALL TIME! and... TO HELL WITH ALL OF YOU WHO TREAT IT SO TERRIBLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2008-09-14 - I can't believe the way all of you treat this WONDERFUL film. WELL TO HELL WITH ALL OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!YOU BETTER GET READY CAUSE HERE IT COMES. Pearl Harbor is one of the GREATEST films of all time.The acting is WONDERFUL. The special effects are...INCREDIBLE!!!!!The attack on pearl harbor...TERRIFYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!And Ben Affleck... PERFECT ACTOR!!!!!!!!!!!That's right,I ADMIT IT! I LOVE THIS FILM!!!!!!!!!!!AND TORA TORA TORA IS AN OLD OUTDATED PIECE OF JUNK!SO...HOW DOES THAT GRAB YA?

Was This Movie Really Necessary?
2008-09-10 - Hollywood cynicism knows no bounds in this "Titanic Meets Tora! Tora! Tora!" rehash. "Pearl Harbor" was made specifically for viewers too young to remember the Oscar-winning "From Here to Eternity." The producers could have saved a fortune by reissuing director Fred Zimmerman's 1953 classic - thus sparing us three hours of bad cinema. Nearly as embarrassing as the 1982 fiasco "Inchon."

ITS A MOVIE NOT A DOCUMENTARY!!!
2008-08-26 - After watching this movie I thought it was pretty good going on great. Then after reading the bad reviews I think the problem is that some people in historic/war movies look SO far into history and the exact little details that may be a little different in the actual movie.

Bottom line is when making a movie you can't show everything totally realistic and perfect. If you do that it will be just another educational documentary about pearl harbor.

You have to have main characters and you have to show the story of the horrible attack that was made on pearl harbor at the same time. I think they accomplished that very well. They showed the fiction love story and how the characters were living before the attacks as a lead in. Then Danny dies at the end to show how the attacks must have affected people personally who were involved, or had anyone close to them involved with pearl at all. The huge 40 minute scene of the Attack is in my opinion greatly done and shows the destruction brutally and vividly. Then when they show the first attack back, they were trying to show how America would band together, grow stronger, and eventually win WWII. I also must add all the actors did a very good job in their roles.

This movie was shown very well with great acting great special effects with i must add a great tandem being Bruckheimer/Bay. Also, screenwriter Randall Wallace who wrote Braveheart. Some people also have a problem with the love story but I think it goes good with the movie especially more on a personal and touching level after the attacks. And hell if you can deal with the love story in Titanic don't attempt to diss the love story in Pearl Harbor. So people need to stop looking so much into it and watch it for what it is. A MOVIE!!

My favorite portrayal of "Pearl Harbour Re-Enactments"
2008-08-15 - I really liked the way this movie was presented. It took alot of the horror out of the element and showed love and compassion in a 1000 times told story. Pearl Harbour is history. History can be embellished pretty easily, especially by Hollywood. Not to worry, you won't feel like this movie was fake. I think most people walk away seeing this time and time again. Fact this is my second copy (I think I loaned amy other one out and never got it returned!)

Worth the money
2008-08-08 - I love Micheal Bay's movies, this movie has crazy war scenes and a great theme song. As for the Vista Series, you are paying for a lot of behind-the-scenes footage and other kinda cool stuff.