Review of Pearl Harbor (2001) by Brian G — 19 Feb 2014

Ok action / love story. Historical accuracy is almost laughable. Yes the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and did put wooden fin extensions on their torpedoes. There are some other real tidbits of actual history in there hidden amongst the fiction.

I was disappointed in the size of the USS Oklahoma. The actual ship was just over 95 feet wide and the ship prop they used in the movie for the capsize sequence appeared much narrower. If you watch as the planes fly high over Pearl Harbor you can see many modern Navy ships.

Could they not edit these ships out. The wild low altitude maneuvers by the 2 P-40s appeared to be a bit much. If you do a search for Kenneth M. Taylor or George Welch (the 2 real life pilots of the P-40s that I think the movie tried to portray), you will find their story much more believable.

It seems like they tried for some realism and accuracy, then threw it all out the window. I saw this movie when it came out and was disappointed. I just recently watched this movie again on cable, and was still disappointed.

I would suggest watching Tora Tora Tora for a more historical representation of the attack of Pearl Harbor. Although it might be fun to watch this movie with friends on DVD so you can stop and discuss what is fact and what is fiction.