Critic Reviews
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
The bombs explode brilliantly but the story is a bust in "Pearl Harbor."
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Derek Adams, Time Out
This bunk is history.
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Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
For my money a much better heartbreaker, thrillmaker and tear-tweaker than Titanic.
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Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
The woe and horror of the event is steamrolled by a surplus of special and digitized effects.
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David Hunter, Hollywood Reporter
Mostly tests one's patience with unseaworthy dialogue and performers drowning in oily cliches.
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Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
The net result of this mighty effort is perhaps predictable: near total inconsequence.
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Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Advertiser
There's a certain symbolic symmetry here. The Navy and Walt Disney have teamed up on the production, and both view history as something to be managed and exploited.
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
This violent movie is worth seeing, but only once.
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Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"Pearl Harbor" zips through clichés like a chainsaw ripping through a stack of Cliff's Notes.
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Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
May be the closest thing to a good movie Michael Bay will ever direct; unfortunately, it's still not very close to a good movie.
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James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Tora! Tora! Tora! is still reigning champ for historical drama, but if you like soapers and romantic treatments, Pearl Harbor is the film for you.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Shockingly, this saga is as aquare as they come: straight, earnest, and schmlatzy epic about the impact of WWII on two flyers in love with the same girl--a 1940s routine flick with special effects.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's bad all right -- I was wincing at the overwritten dialogue within the first five minutes.
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Heather Feher, FilmStew.com
The film is not as painful as a blow to the head, but it will cost you up to $10, and it takes three hours.
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Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com
[Michael] Bay didn't set out to make a film about Pearl Harbor. He set out to make a TITANIC clone that would go "Ka-ching" at the box office . . . Try TORA TORA TORA instead.
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John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
It's just a bit unfortunate that such an incredible, noble story, one which turned a nation around and galvanized a generation into action, should be told by such weak storytellers.
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Frank Ochieng, Movie Eye
Bay's clunky and mammothly plodding Pearl Harbor is one movie that tries to do too many things at once without concentrating on any one specific point...the romance and action sequences are fussed over yet they deliver nothing really spectacular
Read all 17 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Well i dont know why its so liked, i for once agree with the critics as this was just a boring terrrible movie, the attack on Pearl Harbour itself was atleast enjoying purely for the explosions, but its storyline seems very pointless and probably the most bizzare and unconvincing… More
Well i dont know why its so liked, i for once agree with the critics as this was just a boring terrrible movie, the attack on Pearl Harbour itself was atleast enjoying purely for the explosions, but its storyline seems very pointless and probably the most bizzare and unconvincing story.
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Just two words: Unconvincing acting
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This is not a movie about Pearl Harbor. It's a movie about a sappy romance that happens to take place during the attack on Pearl Harbor. I don't even know where to begin. Some really boring love triangle takes place and it gets in the way of making what could've been a… More
This is not a movie about Pearl Harbor. It's a movie about a sappy romance that happens to take place during the attack on Pearl Harbor. I don't even know where to begin. Some really boring love triangle takes place and it gets in the way of making what could've been a good film. It's just a really boring film. In terms of writing, directing and story, the film is weak, but when it comes to action, that's when it's at its strongest. What can you expect from Michael Bay? He's the classic example of a director who puts special effects before a plot. The acting in this film is sad to watch. I can't really blame the actors considering that they weren't given anything to go with though. Here's a quote from the movie that shows how bad the dialogue is:
-Ben Affleck: "You are so beautiful it hurts"
-Kate Beckinsale: "It's your nose that hurts"
-Ben Affleck: "I think it's my heart"
Wow...that's just...wow. The first time I saw that scene, I literally cringed in my seat because of those lines. The first time I saw it was in my 8th grade Social Studies class (Thanks a lot Mrs. Lewis) and when I cringed next to someone at my table, he asked why and I had to pass it off as a shudder. This film is just terrible. It was sad to see great actors like Jon Voight and Cuba gooding Jr. fall victim to Michael Bay dialogue. Avoid this film if you can. It's a huge insult to the people who actually died in Pearl Harbor and there are WW2 veterans who saw this film and hated it, calling it "insulting trash." Shame on you Michael Bay.
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Michael Bay is gay. Direct quote:
-Ben Affleck: "You are so beautiful it hurts"
-Kate Beckinsale: "It's your nose that hurts"
-Ben Affleck: "I think it's my heart"
WOW. RLY?
I don't even wanna get into the reasons why this movie sucks.
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An okay film! The love story adds nothing whatsoever, but the battle sequences are stunning. It's disappointing because scenes like that deserve to be in a better film.
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In almost every Michael Bay film I have seen, it seems as if the man wants to laugh, "And you thought I could actually make a good film!" I wouldn't say that PEARL HARBOR is terrible, but it's the worst I've seen of Mr. Bay. If ARMAGEDDON, a mediocre feature… More
In almost every Michael Bay film I have seen, it seems as if the man wants to laugh, "And you thought I could actually make a good film!" I wouldn't say that PEARL HARBOR is terrible, but it's the worst I've seen of Mr. Bay. If ARMAGEDDON, a mediocre feature at best, was truly the end of the world, per se, PEARL HARBOR is as if the remains of the world dropped to absolute zero.
<b>Full Review: http://wp.me/p1Urcx-wH</b>
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Just fast forward to the Pearl Harbor scene, because the action is pretty good. The rest of the film is a throwaway soap opera with terribly cheesy dialogue.
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I think I'm with everyone else in saying that this movie was a let down. It's too focused on love and not focused enough on the affect this event had on America. The attack on Pearl Harbor affected millions, so when making a film titled "Pearl Harbor"........show… More
I think I'm with everyone else in saying that this movie was a let down. It's too focused on love and not focused enough on the affect this event had on America. The attack on Pearl Harbor affected millions, so when making a film titled "Pearl Harbor"........show that! Don't focus on ONE love story for the majority of the film.
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Very below average film that just happens to have a good recreation of the Pearl Harbor attacks, over Americanised and way too 'top gun-ish' for the period. Affleck is a serious no no for casting and the love plot is just pointless filler before the raids. The effects are… More
Very below average film that just happens to have a good recreation of the Pearl Harbor attacks, over Americanised and way too 'top gun-ish' for the period. Affleck is a serious no no for casting and the love plot is just pointless filler before the raids. The effects are amazing and show some of the best cgi on offer this is true but that's it.
The battle makes the movie and does recreate the devestation well, its good for the memory of those lost but the film as a whole is poor as you are simply waiting for the attack, the rest is just uneventful and meaningless.
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Pearl Harbor is a terrible experience, it craps on one of the most tragic US moments, and Micheal Bay turns a historical event into a action film god I hate Micheal Bay. The plot is so terrible its hard to explain, I mean what does two best friends fighting over a girl have to do… More
Pearl Harbor is a terrible experience, it craps on one of the most tragic US moments, and Micheal Bay turns a historical event into a action film god I hate Micheal Bay. The plot is so terrible its hard to explain, I mean what does two best friends fighting over a girl have to do with Pearl Harbor, and with side scenes of Alec Baldwins words of wisdom, and also who bright idea was it to make it 3 hours long, I could barely watch 1 hour. The cast was also awful, I mean Ben Affleck is so whiny and such a bad performance, and Josh Hartnett is just a way to make girls sweat at the theatre, and they make Kate Beckinsale a tramp in the film, so basically nobody in this film was ugly. The visual effects wouldbe okay, IF THIS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AN ACTION MOVIE, ITS SUPPOSED TO BE SAD NOT ACTION PACKED!!!! The score was pretty good, I had no complaints about that. Basically in a nut shell. after all these years I have seen Pearl Harbor, and its just another shitty Micheal Bay movie.
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Despite the unrelated love story, Michael Bay's effects and the war scenes are very good, and very cool, but I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a big pile of shit. [I realize this film is prior to Transformers] Bay, this isn't Transformers, it's okay to… More
Despite the unrelated love story, Michael Bay's effects and the war scenes are very good, and very cool, but I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a big pile of shit. [I realize this film is prior to Transformers] Bay, this isn't Transformers, it's okay to limit your budget, and you need to realize that this is not and will never be Titanic! Bay's response: "What does "limit" mean?" Perhaps if we had James Cameron or Chris Nolan, this could've been something great, but unfortunately, it's not.
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I may be alone here, but I think Pearl Harbour is extremely underrated. yes, it has it's stupid moments of forced acting and humour, but that is just something you have to get used to if you are walking into a Michael Bay feature. If your looking for a compelling story, look… More
I may be alone here, but I think Pearl Harbour is extremely underrated. yes, it has it's stupid moments of forced acting and humour, but that is just something you have to get used to if you are walking into a Michael Bay feature. If your looking for a compelling story, look somewhere else, but if you want fantastic emotion, your are surprisingly in the right spot. This three hour war film had me laughing at the film for the first half hour from it's stupidity, but after time passes, I feel that the film slowly corrects all of the dumb humour and stupid dialogue and disperses of it by the time the half-hour long climactic war scene is underway. pearl Harbour is in absolutely no way a great film, but I had a lot of fun with it, and I cared which characters lived and died, even if it was predictable. This film should have classic written all over it from it's title, but what it is, is just jaw-dropping entertainment from start to finish. That's all I really wanted after I realized what I had been in for once again...
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Of course Michael Bay was never gonna go for documentary realism- especially about an event with the invincible American military being caught with its pants down. The movie is market-driven, manipulative processed cheese. Even so, I'll admit it's an occasional guilty… More
Of course Michael Bay was never gonna go for documentary realism- especially about an event with the invincible American military being caught with its pants down. The movie is market-driven, manipulative processed cheese. Even so, I'll admit it's an occasional guilty pleasure to let myself be manipulated for pure popcorn entertainment.
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Harshly criticized and Michael Bay seem to be two phrases that are always popping up together. Pearl Harbor is a great movie that seemed to be cast aside as the bastard child of Titanic and Tora! Tora! Tora! In actuality, it's just a really fun story with dynamic characters and a… More
Harshly criticized and Michael Bay seem to be two phrases that are always popping up together. Pearl Harbor is a great movie that seemed to be cast aside as the bastard child of Titanic and Tora! Tora! Tora! In actuality, it's just a really fun story with dynamic characters and a story that is worthy of it's epic scale. Michael Bay's knack for destruction obviously comes handy here come the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but it's honestly just as impressive during the character moments and plot driven dialogue scenes. This isn't just an excuse to make action; the idea is to emotionalize and make the situation during Pearl Harbor realistic. Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett are great together as two best friends and really make the movie so easy to relate to. I for one think the love story works just fine here and it feels like a necessity if you're going to reflect the time period. It doesn't hurt that Kate Beckinsale is so strong in the role. Michael Bay was clearly trying to give people a feeling for the time period and everything he put in here is warranted. Anyone that doesn't like Pearl Harbor for bizarre reasons like "It's supposed to be a war movie but it was just some stupid love story" obviously hasn't seen the majority of war movies and clearly has no idea what they're talking about. Actually, Pearly Harbor is pretty flawless from my point of view. The visuals are amazing, the story works extremely well and flows perfectly, it's a WWII movie that isn't just about the battleground and encompasses so much about the time period aside from combat.
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One of my all time favourite films! A heartbreaking story and you cry everytime you watch it! A must see!
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Good action, the big problem of Pearl Harbor, is the cliche screenplay, boring story and tedious romance. A mix of Men of Honor and Titanic. Rotten.
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It's funny that the consensus should call this a titanic wannabe and then accuse it of all of titanic's flaws. Truth is, it has better acting, a more interesting complex story, and better visuals than titanic. It's definitely goofy at several points, as well as… More
It's funny that the consensus should call this a titanic wannabe and then accuse it of all of titanic's flaws. Truth is, it has better acting, a more interesting complex story, and better visuals than titanic. It's definitely goofy at several points, as well as extremely historically inaccurate, but it's also all well shot and flat out entertaining. I started this movie without any previous knowledge of poor reviews or Michael Bay direction, and this is my unbiased opinion.
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Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor acts in a similar way as James Cameron's Titanic. Both films and Paul Gross's ultimate cinematic travesty Passchendaele. All three films take a tragic event in history and spice it up with a love story. I really don't know why they… More
Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor acts in a similar way as James Cameron's Titanic. Both films and Paul Gross's ultimate cinematic travesty Passchendaele. All three films take a tragic event in history and spice it up with a love story. I really don't know why they decided to include a love story to a backdrop of a tragic event in history. However the film is a failure. Michael Bay's directing is sloppy, the guy can't seem to craft a good story with a film with actual development in the story. All his films are that way, and as of yet, he's only made two very good films, The Rock and the first Transformers film. Pearl Harbor has obviously been influenced by Cameron's Titanic, though was a film with a mediocre love story, which made it the most overrated piece of garbage in cinematic history, it was slightly better than this. Michael Bay opts to ignore facts to create his film and fails miserably. Bay prefers fiction over fact, and the film is a disappointment for those who love history and war films such as myself. The acting is atrocious and everyone involved in this train wreck should be ashamed. Pearl Harbor has some decent enough action sequences, but unfortunately that doesn't redeem the film of how bad it is. The film could have been trimmed down to 2 and a half hours instead three and a half hours. Either way, Pearl Harbor was a disappointment and is one of the worst war films ever made, after Passchendaele of course. Tora! Tora! Tora! is the definitive Pearl Harbor film. Skip this one and view Tora! Tora! Tora! That film is a classic. Pearl Harbor is an attempt by Hollywood to to create fiction with fact, and it's a failure.
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This is an interesting, sad and touching story, where you can see what war can do to a human. This is an Oscar winning war movie that not only shows you how much you can lose, but also how strong love can be~!
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Please, stick to the history. I really, really, REALLY don't care about some fictional romance broken up by the tragedy of Pearl Harbor. The history itself is far more interesting.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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