The ‘Day of Infamy’ is recalled in this three-hour, $145 million epic which deftly blends the fictional and the factual to yield a stirring experience with something for everyone. [PG-13]
By: Kam Williams
On Dec. 7, 1941, the United States was finally drawn into World War II when the Japanese destroyed the U.S. Pacific Fleet in a Sunday dawn sneak attack at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Termed "A date which will live in infamy" by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the devastating defeat shook the country to its core.
In a flash, public opinion shifted away from a position of peaceful isolationism, galvanizing instantly into a patriotic commitment to an all-out war effort. Pearl Harbor, directed by Michael Bay, re-creates this defining moment in our history with a spectacular saga of courage and heroism against all odds.
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In Pearl Harbor, Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck compete for the same girl against the backdrop of the infamous attack on the Hawaiian naval base. |
This fast-moving three-hour epic rests on a curious love triangle as a compelling front story, one ultimately overwhelmed by the looming backdrop of the ominous outbreak of war. In this respect, the movie resembles Titanic, another big-budget extravaganza that worked its way inexorably to an unavoidable, catastrophic conclusion.
The film stars Oscar-winner Ben Affleck as Rafe and Josh Hartnett as Danny, childhood friends from Tennessee who share the same dream of becoming fighter pilots. By 1940, Danny ends up at Pearl Harbor in the Army Air Corps, while the eager-for-action Rafe volunteers to join Britain’s Royal Air Force, already engaged in daily dogfights with the Nazis.
Rafe asks Danny to keep an eye on his girlfriend, Evelyn, played by Kate Beckinsale, a nurse stationed at the same Hawaiian base. After Rafe is reported missing-in-action, the disconsolate Danny and Evelyn cry on, then caress, each other’s shoulders, allowing time and touch to heal all wounds.
Will Rafe re-appear? In an atmosphere just bristling with anticipation, I found myself tensely wondering who would arrive at Pearl Harbor first, Rafe or the Japanese.
The historical backdrop is peopled by an impressive supporting cast, topped by Oscar-winners Cuba Gooding Jr. and Jon Voight. Gooding appears as Dorie Miller, the Navy chef-turned-gunner, later decorated for his valiant efforts during the battle. It is interesting to note that in his last movie, Men of Honor, Gooding also played a celebrated Navy veteran.
Voight convincingly disappears into his characterization of FDR, the wheelchair-bound president forced to declare war in the wake of the surprise slaughter. Others in the ensemble cast include Alec Baldwin, Tom Sizemore, Dan Aykroyd, Guy Torry, Leland Orser and supermodel James King.
Like Titanic, Pearl Harbor deftly blends a fictional love story with a factual incident to yield a stirring experience with something for everyone. Romance fans will take to the satisfying resolution of the bittersweet romance at the heart of the melodrama.
History buffs and special-effects fanatics will appreciate the painstakingly re-created battle sequences, filmed on location on Oahu. After the action is over, the film delivers a powerful punch by providing chilling shots of the U.S.S. Arizona, the sunken battleship still at the ocean floor with its crew of 1,100 forever entombed.
All this adds up to a bona fide blockbuster and a fitting tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in the defining event for a generation of Americans.
Rated PG-13. Contains fairly graphic bombing, strafing and other fight sequences; mild profanity and sexual situations.