Short Review: There are these two guys and they’re friends. They both love the same girl. This starts a flummoxing love triangle as they struggle to overcome their own selfish needs and expectations…oh yeah, that and then there’s this part where the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. Anyway, so the girl loves the first boy…


After seeing this film, I believe it's fair to say the men and women at Pearl Harbor have been attacked twice.

This is akin to making a film about The Batan Death March and placing the focus of the story on the relationship between a boy and his dog.

The film is a complete horror. The love story at the center of this grand insult is lifeless. Perhaps this is due to the limp script being played out by three of our less charismatic and talented actors: Benny Affleck, Josh “I look like Tommy Lee Jones’ kid” Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale. Maybe I’m nuts but I’m of the opinion that if you’re going to produce a film on one of the most important events in American History, you should go with your A-Team. What’s with the junior varsity players getting a shot at this?

The only serious member of the cast and crew is screenwriter Randall Wallace and this is so bad, I can’t believe he wrote it. Wallace is a national treasure as far as I’m concerned. But to look at the juvenile handling of this movie I’m shocked he’s allowed his name to remain in the credits.

Film is important. It informs people about the world we live in and in cases such as this, it teaches people about history. That is one of the purposes of this production in the first place. This should have been a reflection on that dreadful day and its implications in history. Instead we a mash of music video, action movie and just plain crappy film making. On top of all of that, the film has the nerve to make the fascist FDR look like a hero. He was a corrupt and vile man, to make him look like a strong, honorable man is disgusting.

Revisionist history is bad enough. Do we have to make history itself suck too?


Related Reviews:
Ben Affleck movies
Hollywoodland (2006)
Armageddon (1998)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Christian Spotlight on the Movies
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Labels: Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck. Josh Hartnett, Cuba Gooding Jr, Dan Aykroyd, film, Jennifer Garner, Jon Voight, Kate Beckinsale, Michael Bay, movie review, Randall Wallace, Tom Sizemore, William Finchner

Short Review: This film left me more disappointed than Clay Aitkin’s girlfriend on prom night.


Overall, this should have been a great film. You have a great cast (Robert De Niro, Tom Sizemore, Val Kilmer, Jon Voiht, Dennis Haysbert and William Fichtner) along with Michael Mann writing and directing. What could possibly go wrong?

Al Pacino.

I liken his performance in this film to a child who ruins a beautiful family portrait by sticking out his tongue. Where everyone else is cemented in reality and subtlety, Pacino is a bellowing cartoon.

Other than Glen Garry Glen Ross, what has he done the past couple decades that hasn’t been overblown and goofy? He is stuck in Scarface mode. Watch the film and tell me you don’t expect him to scream out “Say hello to my little friend!” It’s a shame to see a single element in a film trash the whole piece.

The story is thought out and carefully executed. This is an interesting character piece and most of the actors take advantage of the opportunities Mann’s script provides. While some weak points do exist, the story is overall rather sturdy and advances some wonderful scenes.

There is one thing about this film that is simply brilliant – the sound. This has to be one of the best sounding films made in recent memory. The gunfights are stunning to hear. The rumbling echoes of the rifles off buildings are a joy to hear. Finally, a sound designer who actually wants the film to sound like real life.

Looking at the piece as a whole, it is worth seeing if you’ve missed it. This stands even though Pacino screams in every scene. I kept waiting for one of the other characters near to him to flinch and respond “Hey, you don’t have to yell, I’m standing right here!”


Related Reviews:
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Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
City by the Sea (2002)


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Labels: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Tom Sizemore, Val Kilmer

Screenwriter: Stephen Susco (The Grudge)
Director: Trygve Allister Diesen and LuckyMcKee (The Woods)
Actors: Brian Cox (The Ring), Noel Fisher (Freddie Got Fingered), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan), Kyle Gallner, and Shiloh Fernandez

Labels: Brian Cox, film, movie trailer, Tom Sizemore

Labels: film, Matt Damon, movie trailer, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, war, World War II