Bombs Away? Not exactly. Review on Pearl Harbor Movie

Well the wait is over. ''Pearl Harbor'' is in theaters finally after 5 long months, Since the previews first started appearing in December (around the 7th) we've been waiting. The hype says that this movie is going to be the ULTIMATE Pearl Harbor movie. I, being a history buff, was interested in seeing the movie. However my critics eye cast a suspicious glance at the names of the producer and director (Bay and Bruckheimer, responsible for Armageddon) plus the three hour running time. Hell, the real attack on Pearl Harbor wasn't that long.

However I decided to see the movie in theaters figuring it was worth the risk. The risk to the producers anyway. Would they have to worry about ''awaking a sleeping movie critic and filling him with a terrible resolve''? Or would they ''Gain the inevitable triumph''?

Well the visit to theater was worth the bucks. Pearl Harbor is a very good movie that is worth seeing, despite the fact that it has many faults.

The movie begins in the 1920s when we are introduced to two young boys Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker. They are both trying to fly a plane and after coming very close, get into trouble with one of their fathers. He gets rough with Danny so Rafe hits him. After that takes place one of them mentions World War I and the father's anger cools. He talks about how he hopes they never have to experience such a thing as he went through in the trenches.

Fast-forward to 1941. The Japanese are invading China, The Nazis are overrunning Europe and Britain is being pounded with Nazi bombs. Meanwhile President Roosevelt is wondering what to do.

In Hawaii we see Rafe and Danny again who have grown up and are now respectively played by Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. They are both in the Army Air Corps (The prototype for what is today the US Air Force, for those who may be unaware) and have become very skilled pilots. Meanwhile Rafe is offered an opportunity to fly with a squadron of American pilots helping out the British air force. He accepts.

While going through the required physical Rafe meets a pretty nurse named Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). He falls in love with her and they have a romance. When he ships off to England he leaves Danny with the message to ''break the news to her if I don't make it back alive''. Ultimately his plane is shot down and he is presumed dead. Evelyn and Danny grieve over him and begin to fall in love. That is, until Rafe comes back. He explains that he was shot down over the English channel and made it to France.

The romance itself takes up the first of the movie's three hours and has been highly slammed by many critics. I myself wasn't as hostile to it as some other people. But I did feel that it dragged on too long. That was one of the film's several flaws. The romance scenes could have been shorter without detracting from the overall flow of the film. Not to say that it was bad. It helped to put a human face on the characters.

The second hour is focused on the attack itself. This sequence is a very astonishing one, as we see the Japanese begin to attack. The navy begins to fight back and Rafe and Danny are soon shooting at the Japanese planes.

The battle sequences are very thrilling and astonishing. However there are a large number of historical inaccuracies. These inaccuracies are the main strike against Pearl Harbor. For instance there is a scene where President Roosevelt gets up out of his wheelchair and stands. This never happened. The scene, while very uplifting, also rings somewhat false.

The other fault with Pearl Harbor is that certain details get left out. Certain details that aren't problematic to those who have read a lot of history. But may confuse people who aren't too familiar with this period. For instance, later in the film as American pilots prepare for the Dolittle raid on Tokyo they are cautioned to watch out for Japanese when landing in China. The film never says that the Japanese are at war with China, so people unfamiliar with WWII may wonder ''What are the Japanese doing in China?''

What makes the movie work well are the performances. Ben Affleck proves that he is not just some Hollywood pretty face. His portrayal of Rafe is of a man trapped between doing what is right and what his heart dictates. Kate Beckinsale is Evelyn, the nurse who finds herself torn between these two men. Cuba Gooding Jr. several months down the road from his superb performance in Men Of Honor portrays Dorie Miller, a cook on-board one of the ships in Pearl Harbor who mans anti-aircraft guns during the attack and shoots down some Japanese planes. He later on becomes the first African-American to be awarded the Navy cross. Veteran Japanese actor Mako is Isoruko Yamamoto, the Japanese admiral who planned the raid, regretted doing it and correctly feared that he had ''awakened a sleeping giant''. And Jon Voight and Alec Baldwin are good as President Roosevelt and Major General Jimmy Dolittle respectively.

Pearl Harbor is a good, entertaining historical epic. I definitely recommend seeing it. But if you want accurate facts, I'd recommend reading a book about the attack as well. I'd suggest Air Raid Pearl Harbor by Paul Stillwell, which collects first person recollections of the tragedy. Overall, Pearl Harbor is a worthy but flawed film.

Add points for not having Celine Dion sing the theme song.