Review of Pearl Harbor (2001) by The All-Seeing I — 17 Jan 2019

As an entertainment vehicle, it can be argued that Pearl Harbor as a movie doesn't have to appeal to the history buff as its foremost objective; it's a major studio film which absolutely must sell tickets to serve its masters, and of course there can be forgiven elements of formula when a film is steadfastly required to accomplish that on a grand scale.

That said, it's been proven many times over that in a war-centric film, the solemn and thoughtful introduction of the brutal horrors of war can help us appreciate and forgive the simultaneous incorporation of any required turnstile-enabling mechanisms (in the case of Pearl Harbor, the concurrently running device of a love story). Sadly, this is a film that presents its human losses no differently or more poignantly than a prototypical shoot-em-up video game, as it's all too easy to get up off the couch from either unscathed. The dialogue presented is indeed weightless and at times wince-inducing. Affleck's superficial acting response - albeit to a superficial character and script - is redeemed in some career roles subsequent to this film, but Pearl Harbor is without question the bleakest of his self-inflicted acting wounds. Michael Bay has since become the highly notorious Michael Bay, towards whom many jokes of derision have since been directed (both appropriately and otherwise). Here, it proved disastrous to treat a subject of historical gravitas to his stylized inclinations.

Pearl Harbor as a historical event is a fascinating and horrifying moment within the American fabric. Pearl Harbor as a movie doesn't aspire to convey that in a way that provides punctuation or lasting takeaways beyond its initial lite-fare consumption. Its failure as a film was surely foregone before the first frame was captured, and right after the creative approach was first baked in.