Pearl Harbor

I loved the movie Pearl Harbor so much, and I cried SO MUCH during it. It was so sad and heartbreaking, and I loved the romance between Rafe and Evelyn, and the chemistry and acting were amazing, and the casting, too. Everything was produced really well, including the special effects. It was so emotional and really touching. It is now one of my favorite movies of all time. I would totally recommend if you're into sad, heartbreaking romances.

Pearl Harbor” is more than a war movie—it’s a love letter to resilience, heartbreak, and the weight of history. Directed by Michael Bay and set against one of the most devastating attacks on American soil, it doesn’t just recreate a moment—it makes you feel it. The action sequences are staggering—the attack on Battleship Row is raw, chaotic, and unrelenting. It made me understand, in a visceral way, just how quickly a normal morning turned into a nightmare. You don’t just watch it—you live it. But what caught me off guard was the emotion. The love triangle between Rafe, Evelyn, and Danny might be fictional, but the feelings it surfaces—grief, loyalty, guilt, and impossible choices—felt real. It reminded me that even during war, people are still just trying to find something worth holding on to. Yes, the film takes dramatic liberties. No, it’s not a documentary. But as a cinematic experience, it captures something rare: the ache of innocence lost, and the quiet strength that follows. By the end, I didn’t just feel like I had watched a war movie—I felt like I had remembered something important about what courage really looks like.

While the film offers brief awe-inspiring and patriotic shots the overall story leaves a lot to be desired. The ending of the film was not a mix of emotions, rather just two, anger and confusion.

First things first, the fact that many of the posters only show Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale is a travesty. Josh Hartnett's Danny is the heart and soul of this film and one of the driving forces for this review to be more positive than negative. Pearl Harbor is a fascinating film. On one side, you have the incredible action sequences that depict the devastation of the events of December 7, 1941. On the other side, there is an abudance of melodramatic romance that becomes tiring and cumbersome. The problem is that the action sequences are only about 1/4 of the film, where the romance is the other 3/4. If that was flipped, I think Pearl Harbor would have much better reviews and would have resonated more with audiences. Best Character: Danny Best Quote: "No, you are" - Danny Best Scene: December 7th Best Piece of Score: "Tennessee

An absolute masterpiece. A star studded cast and a love romance that is beautiful.

Pearl Harbor was good, but too many plot twists and Evelyn shouldn't have gotten her happy ending. We liked Gooz. Too many random scenes. It was fun. Not bad, but not my favorite. It did show how sad it was for the soldiers and families affected.

I think this film gets hated on too much due to the expectation that this was supposed to be a gritty war film. The romance perspective on how war affects us was fantastic and the characters were easy to relate to. The antagonists were painted in a sympathetic light, which is usually accurate between warring nations. War is almost always complex, as we learn from Homer, were both sides have fighting men who die defending those they love the most. Finally,the fighting at the end is top notch and had a decent climax. Highly recommend.

watching the storyline progress is the same as drinking Bangladeshi sewerage water visuals are alright

Absolutely shameful, disrespectful, wasteful 3 hour war drama that some Pearl Harbor are real and did happen in real war times but Michael Bay just likes to blow up a lot and Michael Bay doesn't know how to make drama war and the writing are so boring and really not funny and the characters we don't really care especially with really great cast but there's no human drama towards the characters.

Pearl Harbor is one of those movies that gets a lot of hate, but honestly, I don’t think it deserves all of it. People go in expecting a war film and get a romance drama instead, which seems to be where most of the criticism comes from. The plot focuses more on a love triangle than the historical attack itself, and while that might not be what everyone wanted, it was clearly the film’s intention. If you can accept that it's a romantic drama set against a war backdrop, rather than a war film with romance sprinkled in, then you might appreciate it for what it is. Michael Bay’s direction is exactly what you’d expect—big, explosive, and visually intense. The action sequences, especially the Pearl Harbor attack, are filmed in his signature style, and they still hold up today. The cinematography is clean, with dramatic wide shots of aerial combat, fiery destruction, and emotional close-ups. Where the film struggles is its pacing. It stretches certain sequences for too long, making it feel uneven at times. The final act, while exciting, feels a bit disconnected from the rest of the movie, almost like it belongs to a different story. Acting-wise, Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, and Kate Beckinsale do a decent job, but the material they’re working with doesn’t always help them. Their performances are solid but not standout, with some emotional scenes feeling a little forced. The supporting cast, including Cuba Gooding Jr. and Alec Baldwin, adds weight to the film, but the character development is mostly surface-level. The script has its moments but leans into melodrama too often, making some scenes feel more exaggerated than they need to be. That said, Pearl Harbor delivers where it counts in terms of visuals and sound. The action sequences are stunning, with incredible aerial shots, intense battle choreography, and a level of destruction that still holds up today. The sound design adds a layer of realism, making the chaos of war feel immersive. And then there’s Hans Zimmer’s score, which is hands down one of the best aspects of the film. His music elevates the emotions, making the highs more exhilarating and the lows more heartbreaking. If you watch Pearl Harbor for its spectacle, its music, and its grand-scale drama, there’s a lot to enjoy.