Pearl Harbor (DVD)

Pearl Harbor is the 2001 epic war film based on the real events of the attack of Pearl Harbor during World War II. The film was made on a budget of $151,000,000 and grossed an estimated $449,220,945 at the box office. Despite doing incredibly well at the box office this film bombed (no pun intended) with the critics, largely because of the sheer inaccuracy of the movie from everything to how the bombs drop to the lead characters taking down numerous ...
...has received more critism for Pearl Harbor than any other film in his career. He has however been involved in some fantastic films (directing or producing) such as: Transformers 1 & 2, Bad Boys and Armageddon. Jerry Bruckheimer produces along with Michael Bay. Bruckheimer has been involved with: Enemy Of The State, Coyote Ugly, Black Hawk Down and Pirates Of The Caribbean. Ben Affleck and the gorgeous Josh Hartnett are of course the main stars of ...

Great_reviewer07 25.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...for the US Pacific fleet, Pearl Harbour undergoes a surprise bombing attack by the Japanese, did they declare war. After sixty years, Hollywood heavyweight, Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon, Top Gun, Bad Company, The Rock, Bad Boys 1 & 2, Beverly Hills Cop, Gone In 60 Seconds... the list goes on) decided to make a big blockbuster adaptation of this horrific tradegy and huge loss of life. The script, penned by Randall Walace - "Braveheart" was placed ...
...showcase of effects laden eyecandy, Pearl Harbour stars Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale, plus an impressive supporting cast in a "breathtaking story of love, loss and heroism" (not my words). After the obligitory opening credits, we are on a farm in 1924 with two young boys Rafe and Danny. Both boys depend on one another and are therefore best friends. Rafe is dyslexic and Danny is vulnerable, especially to the likes of his burnt ...

DarkMark 05.05.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...Both are based in Pearl Harbor, about as far as you can get from the war, according to Rafe, but we get to see some of the political intrigue and military manoeuvring between America and Japan. The Japanese believe war is inevitable and plan a huge surprise attack on the massed fleets of the Navy. The tension builds as we realise our heroes are caught up in one of the darkest days in American history. And then Rafe turns up, alive and well. That's ...
...coherency after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The film should have quickly wrapped up the love story and got out of there but unfortunately it goes on (and on) for a lengthy sequence detailing the American 'retaliation'. This is where the gung-ho, jingoistic patriotism gets the better of the story. The ultimate response to Pearl Harbor was, of course, the horror of Hiroshima, but this couldn't be tied into our heroes' stories. Not content with fighting ...

Crazy-Christian 14.06.2001 (21.09.2007) · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...the latest great war epic, Pearl Harbour, at the weekend, that has been advertising itself all over the place as THE definitive film about the event that catapulted the USA into the Second World War, and which changed forever the course of world history. This film actually lasted about an hour more than the actual attack itself, which was all over in a little under two hours. Yawn!!! After a very short period of time I found myself wishing that ...
...trap has to do with Pearl Harbour is a question you will probably ask yourself about a dozen times, as your senses are numbed and your popcorn and Coke begin to run out. ~ ~ The action, when it finally comes, is unquestionably brilliant. The film made heavy use of computer generated special effects for the action sequences, and the technique is very effective. You are suddenly woken up from the stupor that you have fallen into, as thousands of ...

the_mad_cabbie 13.06.2001 (14.06.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...film, based on events at Pearl Harbor, that brought the Americans into the war. But back track to before the war we first meet our two main characters as kids, Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) and Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck). Who the first time we see them have been flying a crop dusting plane at only 9 years old. We then fast-forward and find them in the Air Force together. Rafe falls in love with a nurse, Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale), whom he is ...
...who is then reassigned to Pearl Harbour, where conveniently Danny happens to be serving. Rafe goes missing during a dogfight with the Germans and the news throws Danny and Evelyn together. But he’s not really lost and returns a few weeks later, around about the same time the entire Japanese fleet has disappeared and are planning an attack on Pearl Harbor. So with both ace pilots now in the same place it only seems right that the attack should ...

Andy.mack 10.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...with the actual review: Pearl Harbour stars Ben Afleck, Josh Harnett, and Kate Beckinsale who play the three main characters that this film focuses upon. Based very very loosely on the actual event that drew USA into WWII it, like many other hollywood films, uses this premise and attaches in a love triangle to pull in the punters. Before I get too deeply into this, it would be a good thing to remember that this is a love story first, and a war movie ...
...Japanese have set sail for Pearl Harbour – where Danny and Evelyn have been posted. The night before the first attack, Evelyn finds that Rafe has not been killed but has returned home, only to find out what has happened. Before anything can be properly sorted out, the attack on Pearl Harbour commences… The film takes a while to get started. Those of you who want to watch this for the action will have to wait over 2 hours before the attack ...

cool_bob 28.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...was worth it – and Pearl Harbour simply wasn’t. The film centres on two American pilots who have been best friends since they were children. The film opens with a brief piece of storytelling that shows the two boys as kids, pretending to be pilots and playing on a farm. (Clue – this is a subtle plot element added in to show that they were born to be super hero airline pilots). Fast forward a few years and we see the two men now ...
...the US Navy – and Pearl Harbour is chosen as the target. Japanese tourists in Hawaii gradually provide the intelligence information required to make things happen (they’re like normal Japanese soldiers except they wear shirts with palm trees on), and as the (imaginary) calendar pages peel away, the attack draws closer. Needless to say, the film then portrays the terrible events in computer generated detail – the question is, will ...

LostWitness 24.12.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

Pearl Harbor is a classic example of a Hollywood war film, a vehicle which makes the second world war look glorious, virtuous and sexy. While the second world war was nothing like this, an audience can do nothing to change this impression other than demand the production of more historically accurate films, like the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan (1998). This opening sequence is seen by many modern historians as the most historically accurate ...
...the studio has a hit. Pearl Harbor does this by taking a historical event and adding a love story. Because Pearl Harbor involves a tale of lost love it is easy to relate to. With this ability to relate to the film, it is possible to reach a large audience and make a higher profit. Pearl Harbor also combines two generic conventions in the one film (typical of most high concept films). Pearl Harbor is a combination of both a war film and a romance. ...

Neff 17.09.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

Pearl Harbor. Everyone knows of the real life events that made America join World War II. So now these harrowing events have been given the Hollywood big budget treatment. Not just the Hollywood treatment…but the Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer treatment. This basically means it’s going to be big and the result is surprising good. The plot involves Ben Affleck as American fighter pilot Rafe McCawley and his best friend Danny Walker ...
...Johnson (Kate Beckinsale) stationed ate Pearl Harbor. This side of the plot dominates the first half of the 173-minute movie. Then the film changes pace when the Japanese attack with incredible force and precision. It provides pure entertainment. It is an excellent plot that will have your full attention throughout. Despite dealing with the horrors of war the film starts on a lighter note and provides some humorous moments as well is increasing the ...

elspeth334 15.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

Pearl Harbor was always meant to be the most immense of all Hollywood epics. Toiling in at mere minutes under three hours, it was an immensely ambitious project, weaving love stories and interpersonal relationships in and out of the World War II conflict between the USA and Japan which was sparked off the suicide bombing carried out on Pearl Harbor in 1941. It was certainly visually impressive, with vast daubs of colour and drama and the emotional ...
...room. It's simply that Pearl Harbor is just too big and burdened to actually enjoy. It's humourless, over sincere and obsessed with its own magnificence. Clearly, there are a lot of issues with the film, but it's as well not to judge it TOO harshly. It copped a whole multitude of bad write ups and slaggings at the time of its release, and many of them were inspired by the blockbuster nature of the hype surrounding its release and creation. It was ...

dave27 23.11.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...solely on the events at Pearl Harbor but unfortuantley its not. The film begins with a childhood memory of Raif and Danny imagining themselves as pilots. The film mainly starts as the two prepare for tests and injections. It is here that we are introduced to Raifs main weakness. He jumbles up letters. He gives a heartfelt speech explaining why he should not lose his wings and Evelyn, a beatiful nurse passes him. Raif is obviously taken with Evelyn ...
...the pilots all go to Pearl Harbor. Raif and Evelyn keep their relationship going through letters and all seems to be going great until one day Danny turns up with some bad news. Unfortuanatley Raif's plane was shot down and he died in action. A few months go by and Red and Betty fall in love. One night they all go to a movie but Evelyn and Danny leave and go for a meal. They dismiss any rumours of them being a couple. Red proposes to Batty and she ...

jenni_a 29.04.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...deals with the attack on Pearl Harbour, the special effects are astonishing with the sky absolutely full of Computer Generated Japanese Zero warplanes. This portion of the film is worth its admission price alone, eye candy includes a scene where we follow a bomb from jettison, right through its target, the USS Arizona, and astonishing low level flight sequences through the island's streets. The Americans are caught napping as the raid commences ...
...abounds from the American flag which envelopes some of the casualties to the collecting of a blood donation into a Coca cola bottle, but maybe this is to be expected. Perhaps to try and redress the balance historically the final portion of the film deals with a mission to fly into the heart of Japan and launch a bombing raid which again finds our heroes in the midst of the action. The dialogue while unlikely to trouble the likes of Shakespeare, ...

perlita 18.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...into bits, drooling and grunting. Pearl Harbour is similarly all about RED MEAT and ACTION - not about taste or common sense. But it sure does like its cheese. For all the negative press this movie has got, it isn't all that bad, but then, it's not going to set the world alight. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** Ben Affleck (Chasing Amy, Armageddon) plays the stupidly-named Rafe, a pilot full of derring do (whatever that means) who loves to fly the airy-planes. ...
...Virgin Suicides) – he also likes to fly the airy-planes. We are introduced to these two happy-go-lucky types as children who Jar Jar Binks their way into flying a crop duster. This is a VITAL PLOT POINT. The elation they feel flying the plane for a few minutes shapes their young lives, and the become (flash forward a few years) MILITARY PILOTS. Several years later, the buddies are all growed-up and enjoy being reckless with their flying manoeuvres ...

peppersinclaire 13.07.2001 (10.03.2004) · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...and plotting an attack on Pearl Harbour. And I may be giving the plot away, but the directors could exactly change history could they! Fortunately for this film there is enough extra story after the inevitable to keep it interesting. Half way through watching I did think to myself that the whole thing was a waste of time, but the last section dispelled that theory. Cast wise the movie was well set, with Ben Affleck playing Rafe, Josh Hartnett as ...
...the action, rather as in Pearl Harbour where the two are very much separate. The action sequences are very stunning and exciting, but fail to have the same effect as those from films like Saving Private Ryan. I also have a smallish bone to pick with the directors on account of the shear rubbish of the story from a historic point of view. I knew more of the history than this film had and I only did it in GCSE history. The Japanese are portrayed about ...

real_rob_writer 25.06.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)

...had a big feeling about Pearl Harbor. Stupidly, I let myself be talked into seeing it anyway, in the same way that I stupidly let myself be talked into seeing Independence Day, Armageddon and other sickeningly over-patriotic clap-trap. But I was totally unprepared for quite how bad this movie is. The whole idea of giving the name 'Pearl Harbor' to this movie somewhat disgusts me because the events surrounding the bombing of Pearl Harbor have bugger ...
...for the movie, then the Pearl Harbor battle scenes tacked on the end, which is what they have used to sell the rather crap bit at the front. Quite frankly it stinks. No one asked for a history lesson here either, but when you think that this is still one of the most shocking events in history to Americans, you do wonder about the ethics of blatantly abusing the events in this way. This movie has nothing to do with Pearl Harbor, nothing to do with ...

wampyrii 30.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Pearl Harbor (DVD)