I saw this year's ago in high school and didn't think it was all that bad. Even my peers hated it. Why do people here it, and most all the hate on Bay. I read a comment they tried to give it away nobody would take it LOL too funny. If I who bay is much but all this hate on towards him is pretty funny! LOL
shareIts not a bad movie. Its not an accurate documentary but its not a bad movie. As for teenage kids...I never put much stock on their opinion even when I was one. In the rnd if you like it go fot it.
shareNow why is this not an accurate documentary? Are you saying Japan did not attack Pearl Harbor? And the Dolittle raid was also very real. And America did send air force pilots to the UK prior to America joining the war
shareNot all his movies suck. He also doesn't write them so i don't understand why so much hate when it comes to the stories. The man can stage a scene for sure.
But Pearl Harbor has an extra mark against for many people. It seems like maybe it shouldn't be so overdramatized, especially with a silly love story. All that death and destruction...what is the common retort from a stand up comedian after a sorta tasteless joke - "What? Too soon?".
Bay and the makers of this took one of the major turning points in Japanese and American history and a tragic one at that, and made a special effects extravaganza, purely to make money.
Seems like we were able to detach ourselves easier from the loss of life from the Titanic than what happened at Pearl Harbor. Passage of time? The way people lost lives?...murder versus an accident at sea?. Don't know.
But this is just too soon. There are many folks still alive who remember this and what it meant to this country.
The stupid adolescent love triangle makes it that much worse.
there are actually two Groups of haters.
1) those that hate it for the love triangle story, thinking it has no place in a War Film.
I personally have no problem with that, as the story IS about the love story and the Pearl harbor attack is merely the backdrop upon which the story takes place.
2) Michael Bay is notoriously ignorant when it comes to portraying realism and historical accuracy. While it isn't a documentary... it still plays far too fast and loose with historical facts when it comes to depicting the attack. Many of the scenes are utterly insulting in their BS and inaccuracy. It is a film for the ignorant and the brain dead to OHHH and AHHH at all the flashy explosions.
I subscribe to the second school of haters of this film. The Movie is an insulting joke to anyone of intelligence.
I joined the Navy to see the world, only to discover the world is 2/3 water!
I'd say I fall under both of those haters. I was looking through my ratings and saw that this is one of the only movies I've given a 1/10 to. The acting/love story is absolute trite. And the historical importance of an even like this left to a mindless blockbuster is disgraceful.
And let it be known, I like Transformers and The Rock is one of my favorite action movies.
Yeah, gotta agree with you Goran... I hate the movie from both angles. I think, though, that is more an advertising issue. This was billed as Saving Private Ryan (1998) of the Pacific... which it most definitely wasn't. If it was billed as 'The Notebook (2004) of WWII' I would have had less problem with it, as that's what I would have gone in expecting.
Hell, I love the musical South Pacific (1958), which in reality is a love story with a WWII backdrop, but it doesn't PRETEND to be something that it isn't.
The fact that both the pilots that the leads were loosely based on hated the movie says volumes.
SpiltPersonality
If you want a good idea for a love story set in and around The Day of Infamy watch "From Here to Eternity."
If you want to watch a good semi-documentary based around the same watch "Tora! Tora! Tora!"
What we have with "Pearl Harbor" is the worst of both. It's a horribly flat and unbelievable love story based around... very loosely based around... historical facts that are just too damn well known by too many people, a large handful of which were still alive in 2000-01 and were totally pissed on by this movie.
Then again part of the hate is against a generation of ignorant movie goers who know nothing about history and simply luuuuve this movie because of all the CGI flashbang.
I don't hate this movie, least of all because of the director. I think the writing is terrible. I *get* that writer wanted to do a story set against the backdrop of Pearl Harbor, but there is nothing remarkable about the love story--except that it is implausible that the pilot was able to survive the downing of his aircraft. I mean, we see all the inaccuracies in the FAQ, so we know that the writer only cared about telling the implausible story and failed miserably at anything that would result in a plausible one. As a writer, I find that to be the cardinal sin of the movie. The rest of the window dressing just compounds the sin. It's a shame, since the story had a lot of potential.
shareMy issue is that there's really noone you care about!
They try to 'make' you care, but fail in a big way.
Probably as the 'Team America' song said, Cuba Gooding Jr's character was the only one who maybe made me care.
"Thanks, guys." "So long, partner."
- Toy Story 3 (9/10)
Cuba Gooding's character, Doris Miller, although made into a PC and late '90s type person, is also based on a real person who did real things that made him a real hero. Unfortunately he was killed in '42 (early '43?) off Guadalcanal.
shareDorie Miller was portrayed briefly in "Tora Tora Tora," but I liked Cuba Goodings portrayal of him in "Pearl Harbor."
shareIt's just so astoundingly idiotic, from the many historical inaccuracies, to the ignorance of basic laws of physics, to the embrace of so many ludicrous coincidences, to the utterly shallow love story...better to ask if there was anything about this movie that DIDN"T suck.
shareLOL you got me cracking up here! That was funny, especially the last statement.
shareDD-931 you are right on. I'm writing this on Sunday, Dec 4, 2016. I'm early, I know, but I am going to watch a movie about Pearl Harbor tonight. I came to this site to confirm my past impressions of this movie. Yep. I will watch Tora Tora Tora. A FAR superior movie. And that whole love story shtick ruined this movie for me. And the love story shtick ruined "Midway" for me also. As life went on for me, I would judge war movies and cowboy movies (except for Silverado) by the number of women in it. I'm certainly not against women in movies, it's just that in some genres, the contrived love story gets in the way. As evidence, I give you The Longest Day, Saving Private Ryan, Fury, The Audie Murphy Story, Hell Is For Heroes, etc. Oh yeah, I forgot "Top Gun" vs "Flight of the Intruder".
melodramatic and shallow, subtlety is something that completely eludes Bay
so many movies, so little time