i saw pearl harbor on monday, fittingly memorial day. the movie was good. REALLY REALLY good.
below, im gonna break it down, revealing generalities about the movie, but not giving away any shocking movie bits, so, feel free to read on.
the movie is first sumarized by its length - 3 hours and change. definitely a long movie. unfortunately, thats probably its worst characteristic, and its a big one! the second defining characteristic is that the bombing and related war scenes dont start until 86 minutes into the movie (nearly an hour and a half). ... thats a long as time to wait for something you know is gonna happen.
so, whats the time filler? a love story! a BAD love story! relatively corny and predictable -- great for girls (as i found out... not hurting, im sure, that both guys are hot to'em), but for guys, an annoyance. it takes too long, its slow, its anti-climatic, etc... just nothin good.
im no ben afflec fan, or anything, but, i gotta say, i think he did an excellent job in the film. his part was very well played. the other guy and the chick, however, were just no good. if you're an actress, but, im sorry ... your job comes down to 1 of 2 things. either you're super hot, or you can cry on cue like a faucet. this girl could do neither. neither her, nor that other guy, sold me on their parts 1 bit. (and i think cuba had a line or two)
all that aside... lets talk about minute 87 and the bombing of pearl harbor... THIS was absolutely incredible. the war / actions / climax of the movie lasted a non-stop 45 minutes. it was incredible inspiring, emotionally compelling, and just jaw-droppingly amazing. every shot and every angle was just fantastic. THIS i was totally sold on. the whole time, my hands, my feet, my whole body was just clenched up in a fist. i was pissed! VERY pissed! ... it was a movie, and i was pissed! the whole 'ride" was very emotional, and, i just felt rage pumping through me the whole time
(which, actually, i think might be kinda scary. cuz, i know there's some guy out there in oklahoma or los angeles that's not really sure if this is a historical movie or live news footage, and, is gonna go beat up some japanese americans somewhere....)
anyway, after that explosive and rip-roaring 45 minutes.... BAM... we're back into the love story for another half hour or so. which was an INCREDIBLE let down. its like when you're driving 80 or 90 on the highway, and, you pull off onto a back road that SAYS yer supposed to do 25, but, yer mind and yer car just dont understand.
i did notice that as soon as the love story picked up again, there was no ill effect on teh women in the audience. they carried on from the war scenes to the love story as if they were on an even pane. every guy in the audience, however, was just looking around at one another, sorta confused and a little disappointed. frustrating.
there was a smaller action scene at the end, and of course the love story wrap-up.
all n'all, the movie was really good. the initial 85 minutes CERTAINLY could have been summed up in 45, with ease. i understand the intent of the movie before the actual war, to help the audience relate to the emotional state of the, otherwise "everyday" country at the time, but... the story wasn't great and neither was the acting, so, lord knows THATS not gonna happen.
the BOTTOM bottom line, tho... is that the movie is definitely worth seeing. its got all the "lifetime channel" movie appeal for women, and emotionally charged, incredibly exciting action movie appeal for guys... certainly worth the money to see it on the big screen.