Movie Talks Archives

Posted by: bskutle at December 15, 2001, 10:43 am

Topic: Reviews: Pearl Harbor Forum: JoBlo

"Pearl Harbor"- B-
The question I've been asking all year is- will Michael Bay muck up this depiction of the sneak attack that lead to the US's involvement in WWII the way he did the dizzyingly crummy "Armageddon?" Thankfully, the answer- for me- is no, but that doesn't mean Bay can be let off the hook. What he and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (also guilty on the charge of bringing "Armageddon" to the screen) have essentially done is created a modern-day "From Here To Eternity" with the scope- and hopeful appeal- of "Titanic," setting a love triangle between Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett (as fighter pilots), and Kate Beckinsale (as a nurse where they're stationed) around the events leading up to and after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. Praise the Lord that Bay doesn't subject us to a scene as deplorably sickening as that wretched animal crackers nonsense between Affleck and Liv Tyler in "Armageddon"; the scenes between Affleck and Beckinsale and Hartnett and Beckinsale (whom fall in love after Affleck is believed dead over in Europe) have more of the young-love appeal of "Titanic" while not even remotely hitting the swooning, melodramatic heights of "From Here To Eternity." There's still a lot of homespun Americana corn in this epic (the beginning- showing Affleck and Hartnett as kids fantasizing about being fighter pilots- in particular; the patriotic "symbolism" less so), but the love story is what Bay wants us to focus on when he isn't blowing things up or laying on the American cheese. Unfortunately, I found myself utterly UN-engaged in the hokey love triangle. I won't fault the actors- Affleck, Hartnett, and Beckinsale all fit snuggly into their roles; here's where I'll blame screenwriter Randall Wallace, best know for the underappreciated "Braveheart." The story progresses so predictibly even a moment that one might consider surprising in this sort of film- which is to say it doesn't follow the tradition "epic love" formula- was easily predictible an hour before the movie made it official (I will give the film credit though; it did throw me off at the end where "Armageddon" was painfully obvious). But that lone "surprise" matters not when the remainder of the three hours makes you feel very little emotionally for the characters, barely characterized other than a few simple facts. When audiences cared for Leo and Kate in "Titanic," they felt they knew those characters; here, I felt that Affleck and Hartnett's characters were interchangable, while Beckinsale's- whom does the voiceover at the end for no real reason (the story isn't told from her POV like it was in "Titanic")- is barely a cardboard cutout of "the girl" in other films. Too bad, 'cause all of these actors have the ability to make me want to care. But then again, what did I expect from the team who made "Bad Boys," "The Rock," and "Armageddon." The characters on the perimeters don't do much better. Jamie King is a scene-stealer as nurse Betty (whom falls for a stuttering soldier (Ewen Bremner, also fine)), but she is gone for most of the movie. Cuba Gooding Jr. scores in what amounts to a cameo as real-life Dorie Miller (the first African-American awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery at Pearl Harbor), but he's also shortchanged, not to mention very vital to the main storyline. In other true-to-life roles, Jon Voight is solid as FDR (appropriately stirring during the famous declaration of war), and Alec Baldwin fills the rah-rah role of Jimmy Doolittle, whom leads the counterattack on Japan after the devestation at Pearl Harbor. This brings me to the action scenes and the "day which will live in infamy." On this level, director Bay achieves his biggest success of the film and the greenlit budget of $135 million (the largest ever approved by a single studio at the outset) shows its stuff. Bay stages the carnage and edits the 40-minute sequence (15 minutes longer than the paralyzing D-Day scene in "Saving Private Ryan") with his typical flair (kudos to cinematographer John Schwartzman ("The Rock") for some spectacular arial work, especially the "bomb's eye" POV shot featured in the trailers for the film), with some great suspense leading up to the sneak attack and terrific special effects and sound work. Unfortunately, it's all for naught given Bay's deficiency as a dramatic filmmaker and storyteller and blatent ripping off of films like "Top Gun," "Titanic," and "Ryan" for some of the most dramatic scenes in the sequence (Bay would call them "homages"- which he neatly defines near the beginning as a sly in-joke). Plus, the combat scenes are crosscut with scenes of Beckinsale and co. treating the wounded at the hospital. Most of these scenes are shot with a deep blur in the camera, for no apparent reason other than to resist relying entirely on "cliched" slo-mo for drama (it's also a bit odd for the film to occasionally disolve in and out of black-and-white, as well as to conviently have a newsreelman there for some shaky "docu" footage). The above comments re: Bay and his ripping off are also true of the final firefight in the sky between Americans and Japanese, which has too much of a feel of "Top Gun" to it to be truly appreciated. Though to a red-blooded action film fan will probably find these entertaining, they don't hold a candle to the blood-curdling dramatic battle scenes in Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan." Finally, we have the music in "Pearl Harbor," composed by Hans Zimmer. While not Zimmer's finest hour (and certainly a letdown after his brilliant orchestral work on "Hannibal" earlier this year), he does show some chops with a lovely, sweeping romantic epic score (the first he's done), even if it sounds equally inspired by his own "The Thin Red Line," "Gladiator" (during the dogfight scenes), "Beyond Rangoon" (the scenes depicting Japan's strategy-making), as well as James Horner a la "Braveheart," "Titanic," and John Williams a la "Saving Private Ryan," and last year's "The Patriot." As for the theme song performed by Faith Hill- "There You'll Be"- it's "My Heart Will Go On"-esque Oscar sap all the way. So will "Pearl Harbor" win Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer "Titanic"-esque box-office and Oscar glory? Yes to the former, and "Lord help us" to the latter, though I'm sure they'd like to think so. Like "The Patriot," this is an ultra-sap machine from beginning to end and is too shallow dramatically (if only they'd spent some time developing the characters more a la "Ryan"); Bay and co. will just have to live with some technical awards for the way they put the combat on the screen. If you're looking for a "Ryan"-esque "recreation" of a historic event with a strong story and message, this ain't it. If you're looking for pure popcorn fodder, you should enjoy it. If only it went more towards the former...

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