Guest Mole Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Now I had the chance to see this movie for the first time earlier this week. When it came out, everyone crapped on it. They said the love story wasn't needed, and the movie could of been much better. I have to disagree. I thought the movie was done really well. The love story fit into the movie nicely, with little subplots throughout the movie fit well. The acting of Ben Affleck was what to expect from him, and Josh Hartnett did an excellent job which is always expected of him. Kate Beckinsale did a decent job, and was very beutiful throughout the movie. Plus, the action of the movie was great. Since the second hour began, it was non-stop action all through the movie. It wasn't intense as other way movies, but it still makes me dread the war we are about to get into. War is nothing good at all, and it makes me sad. I don't know how much of it was true, but if it was, I learned awhole bunch about Pearl Harbor. What were your thoughts on the movie? Why didn't some of you like it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Marshall Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I couldn't get past the first 30 minutes! Affleck is horrible in it. He can be great sometimes. Michael Bay is just the anti-talent. None of it was true, the whole "Pearl Harbour" thing was invented by the Jerry Bruckheimer. Terrible, horrible movie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I hated it, too. It was Titanic with kamikaze planes and a more kinetic camera. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest gthureson Report post Posted January 2, 2003 If you want to watch a Pearl Harbour movie, watch 'Tora Tora Tora'. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Steve J. Rogers Report post Posted January 2, 2003 None of it was true, the whole "Pearl Harbour" thing was invented by the Jerry Bruckheimer. That is part of why this movie gets so much hate. It was built up and promoed like some great war movie on the level of Saving Private Ryan, basically the PR machine made it like it was going to be a definitive film of the events on 12/7/41 Now I haven't seen it so I can't vouch for the acting/directing/script, ect but the bottom line is you just can't do what they did with the PR for the film. I don't think Gone With The Wind was EVER promoted as a Civil War film despite the fact that the War and Restoration are key backdrop elements to the film. Ditto with Casablanca and WWII, ect I don't remeber too much promoing of Titanic being a definitive account of the Titanic disaster so you didn't mind the dramatic license of adding the romance story I guess alot of the hate wouldn't be there if it was promoted as a regular romance film that was set during WWII, specifically around 12/7/41 Another problem with it is that the guy you are rooting for to live (Hartnet) dies and the one you hope dies (Affleck) lives so thats another knock against it Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted January 2, 2003 My problem with it, as a storyteller and writer myself, is that it could have been tighter, shorter, and had a better pace. Also, the love story and the actual bombing/fighting seem like you're watching two entirely different films that happen to have the same cast and characters. There's very much a jolt from the love story that takes up the first half and the fighting in the second. There's no real transition. It's like they decided to make a romance, make a war movie, splice them together, and hope the ending fits. I don't hate it, but I'd rather watch it in halves plus the ending rather than the whole way through. It isn't smooth at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Dames 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I really didn't think it was that bad either. Granted, a lot of it was very contrived and had all the elements of an action/war movie when it shouldn't have, but I didn't mind the love stuff as much as everyone else did. Dames Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest the 1inch punch Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Jennifer Garner wqas in it, how could it be bad Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mole Report post Posted January 2, 2003 The love story was something that set up the war. You don't think stuff like that actually happened? It is a great storyline, best friends since they are kids are torn apart from a girl. It's a classic love story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest El Satanico Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Classic? It was cheeseball at best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Classic? It was cheeseball at best. At least it wasn't Anakin and Padme'. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lethargic Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I own both versions of the DVD. I guess that pretty much sums up my opinion on it. It's real easy to understand the hate. I haven't seen ONE person who hates this movie, that didn't hate it before it was released. It never got a chance. Those people either watched it wanting to hate it going into it or never watched it at all. It's simple, most people on the internet want everybody to believe that they're some high brow, holier than thou, artsy fartsy indy film lover. So some big budget blockbuster featuring a star like Ben Affleck and being directed by a just-blow-some-shit-up director like Michael Bay is going to be hated before the camera even starts to roll. It's not "cool" to like that kind of stuff. To save my poor fingers the trouble, if you wanna see my full thoughts just read this. Saves me the trouble of saying it all again. If you want historical accuracy watch Tora, Tora, Tora and be bored out of your mind. I like my movies to be entertaining and tell a story, I don't expect anything else more than that, so I'll stick with Pearl Harbor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Nah, it isn't some high brow thing with me. I just dislike the way it was edited. There's little to no transition between different themes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest IDrinkRatsMilk Report post Posted January 2, 2003 I didn't hate it before it was released, I thought it would be great actually, it had an excellent trailer. I don't despise it or anything, but I was very dissapointed and I'd give it probably a 4 out of 10. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mole Report post Posted January 2, 2003 Classic? It was cheeseball at best. Cheesball? SPOILER The set up: A army man, Capt. Rafe McCawely(Ben), falls in love with a nurse, Lt. Evelyn Johnson(Kate). They are in love, with a great relationship. Rafe goes off to war in England, and 'dies'. Rafe's best friend, Capt. Danny Walker, then falls in love with Evelyn. He didn't betray his friend, because he thought he was dead. Those two are in love, even though Evelyn still has feelings for Rafe deep down. Rafe comes back, not really being dead, and sees that Danny and Evelyn are together. It breaks up the friendship between the two friends. Don't forget, this love story takes place back when relationships between two people was a lot more romantic. How is that cheesy? It is a basic storyline love story. A cheesy love story would be Anakin and Padme. Now that was corny as fuck, with crappy corny lines. Or maybe you just can't appreciate a good love story. So if that was cheeseball, what movie isn't cheesy? If you wanna talk cheesball, your reason purchase of 9 Killer Klowns from Outer Space is the pinnacle of cheeseball. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted January 2, 2003 How you wrote it there would have made an excellent movie. In fact, it did make an excellent movie. And then . . . KABLAMO!, much like Pearl Harbor itself, you get unexpectedly bombed out of your senses with a battle taking up the rest of the film with nothing to really move you into it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest imajackoff? Report post Posted January 2, 2003 It's all about expectations. I went in wanting to see a realistic portrayal of the attack that happened that day. That's what I got. The attack scenes made you feel like you were there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mole Report post Posted January 2, 2003 How you wrote it there would have made an excellent movie. In fact, it did make an excellent movie. And then . . . KABLAMO!, much like Pearl Harbor itself, you get unexpectedly bombed out of your senses with a battle taking up the rest of the film with nothing to really move you into it. So bascially you are saying they didn't set up the bombing of Pearly Harbor? Well, what were those scenes of Japan setting up to bomb it. Or the scenes of the officers of the USA talking about Japan, and where some of their ships went? That was the set up, if we saw the same movie. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Banky Report post Posted January 3, 2003 The movie was so unbalanced. The first hour and a half is straight love story while the last part is doom and gloom. Also, the plot was so predictable for thelove story. You had to know that the two guys would band together through their hatred to defend their country and one would die - thus leaving the other one hurt. It was straight contrived BS that alienated both love story and war movie buffs. It tried to jam all these elements into the movie to make it an EPIC~! Lethargic, I was pretty excited to see the flick when it came out, and I disputed all of the bad press it got - until I saw the movie. While it wasn't the worst movie ever, the factors of money, press, and anticipation make this movie a major flop. Atleast in Titanic they stood by the love story, in Pearl Harbor is abandoned for such a long period of time it was no longer intruiging. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lethargic Report post Posted January 3, 2003 The movie was so unbalanced. The first hour and a half is straight love story while the last part is doom and gloom. Also, the plot was so predictable for thelove story. You had to know that the two guys would band together through their hatred to defend their country and one would die - thus leaving the other one hurt. It was straight contrived BS that alienated both love story and war movie buffs. It tried to jam all these elements into the movie to make it an EPIC~! Lethargic, I was pretty excited to see the flick when it came out, and I disputed all of the bad press it got - until I saw the movie. While it wasn't the worst movie ever, the factors of money, press, and anticipation make this movie a major flop. Atleast in Titanic they stood by the love story, in Pearl Harbor is abandoned for such a long period of time it was no longer intruiging. I think the balance was perfect for the story. The point of the movie, besides blowing stuff up, wasn't really trying to teach a history lesson OR to be the greatest love story. The idea was to show how it affected people. Normal people. To show how just normal people's lives were completely interrupted and thrown into chaos by one single event. Introduce some characters, let the audience decide who they like and don't and then bomb the shit out of them. It's intentional to have the first half of the movie happy and then the second half dreary. That's how it happened. Just like they say in the movie, the US was a nation of playboys who just wanted to have fun. The United States public back then didn't give a rat's ass about the war. All they wanted to do was listen to jazz, drink, dance, party, have fun. Hawaii in particular, they just thought getting shipped to Pearl Harbor was an easy, free beach vacation. Everybody was having fun, falling in love and then BAM, bombs start dropping. So of course once that happens, the love part SHOULD take a back seat because that's what would've happened in real life. There was a war to fight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mole Report post Posted January 3, 2003 Lethargic I couldn't of said it better myself Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Banky Report post Posted January 3, 2003 The movie was so unbalanced. The first hour and a half is straight love story while the last part is doom and gloom. Also, the plot was so predictable for thelove story. You had to know that the two guys would band together through their hatred to defend their country and one would die - thus leaving the other one hurt. It was straight contrived BS that alienated both love story and war movie buffs. It tried to jam all these elements into the movie to make it an EPIC~! Lethargic, I was pretty excited to see the flick when it came out, and I disputed all of the bad press it got - until I saw the movie. While it wasn't the worst movie ever, the factors of money, press, and anticipation make this movie a major flop. Atleast in Titanic they stood by the love story, in Pearl Harbor is abandoned for such a long period of time it was no longer intruiging. I think the balance was perfect for the story. The point of the movie, besides blowing stuff up, wasn't really trying to teach a history lesson OR to be the greatest love story. The idea was to show how it affected people. Normal people. To show how just normal people's lives were completely interrupted and thrown into chaos by one single event. Introduce some characters, let the audience decide who they like and don't and then bomb the shit out of them. It's intentional to have the first half of the movie happy and then the second half dreary. That's how it happened. Just like they say in the movie, the US was a nation of playboys who just wanted to have fun. The United States public back then didn't give a rat's ass about the war. All they wanted to do was listen to jazz, drink, dance, party, have fun. Hawaii in particular, they just thought getting shipped to Pearl Harbor was an easy, free beach vacation. Everybody was having fun, falling in love and then BAM, bombs start dropping. So of course once that happens, the love part SHOULD take a back seat because that's what would've happened in real life. There was a war to fight. Granted, but they added some extra gloss onto the love story to make it even more *heartwrenching* during battle. They focused so much onto this love story at the beginning without any revisiting that it makes the first 1-1/2 hour seem pointless. It was intentional contrived sappy drivel to make the second part of the movie more powerful. Sometimes less is more, and if they focused mainly on the attack itself it would have been better recieved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest C.H.U.D. Report post Posted January 3, 2003 I thought it was horrible. All the slow motion stuff with the "you must feel these emotions" music was bile enducing. Affleck was really bad, and the love story did nothing for me. I couldn't have cared if all 3 of them died. The CGI didn't look convincing, and the action sequences were generic. When Affleck get's off the plane at the end, and they show the coffin come out, complete with the big music and Affleck's "sad" face, I actually starting laughing (and I wasn't the only one). I also thought blurring the hospital scenes was lame as hell. They want to make a Pearl Harbor movie, but they don't want to show blood, cuz it might not get a PG-13 rating, and the teens couldn't get in! They were trying so hard to get a Titanic groove happening, but they failed miserably. I couldn't even enjoy it on a popcorn level, and I'm a guy who likes really bad movies. Oh, and by the way. Killer Klowns from Outer Space owns this turdburger any day of the week! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NoCalMike Report post Posted January 3, 2003 Killer Klowns from OuterSpace is choice~! I got the dvd for $9.99 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mole Report post Posted January 3, 2003 Alright whatever. Some people liked it, some don't. I respect all your opinions on why you don't like it. The one thing I didn't like was the cheesiness people said it was. Out of anything, it defiently wasn't cheesy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lethargic Report post Posted January 3, 2003 Cheesy is very subjective. It depends on who is watching and what the movie is. If you were into the movie, cheesy would never enter your mind. That coffin part, I can see people thinking that was very cheesy since it's so cliche, but I didn't think it was because I was into the movie and the moment. Where as when I watched the Green Mile, I hated it. I knew what every single scene would be before it ever happened. It was just a paint by numbers "let's try to make people cry" movie to me. So every time some tearjerker part was happening I was either laughing or moaning at how predictable it was. But other people watch it and think it's the best movie ever and ball their little eyes out. So cheesy is a loose term to me. Killer Klowns wasn't cheesy, it was clowns and clowns are friggin scary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest cabbageboy Report post Posted January 3, 2003 No arguments, Killer Klowns is a cool movie. I'm not sure how it got into a Pearl Harbor thread but it's cool. I kinda liked the movie Pearl Harbor but I really don't have any serious love or hate for it either way. I didn't find it a big distraction going from love story to attack because hell, we KNEW it was going to happen. If there was a jolting transition here, I'd say that was intended. The whole idea of Pearl Harbor was for it to be a shocking sneak attack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted January 3, 2003 Yeah, the bombing got a technical setup. Hell, any screenwriter can do that. But it had no real DRAMATIC setup. I had little reason to really give a damn about these particular people in this event. None of them had any real established nemesis to overcome during the attack, other than a vague, large generalization of enemy pilots. It was only personal for them on a mild level the way it was set up. It's like in Independence Day. You had a large ensemble cast, with multiple storylines. But each of them had a very personal stake in the overall storyline, which gave a satisfying dramatic conclusion. Even the aliens themselves were brought down to a specific personalization when the alien woke up at Area 51 and made contact with the President. Technical setup in a film is easily achievable. Telling a good, balanced story? That doesn't always happen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Dmann2000 Report post Posted January 4, 2003 I personally feel sticking a fake love story into the events of Pearl Harbor is a little tacky. Yes the war did interrupt personal relationships but come on, you don't need a love story to sell a film about Pearl Harbor. I don't mind it in Titanic because that was an accident caused by the hubris of mankind. It wasn't a planned, surprise, crippling attack. That would be like a movie about 9/11 starting with a love affair between a two ROTC guys and one falls in love with an girl working for NYC EMT. One guy is feared killed on the plane but NO turns out he skipped the flight but couldn't get back for 2 weeks, in which time the other two fall in love, then the two ROTC guys join up to fight in Afghanistan. See what I mean Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Lethargic Report post Posted January 4, 2003 Once again, if you want that, watch Tora Tora Tora. Or watch the History Channel. This is a movie. It's telling a story, not teaching history. Is this the first war story that had a love story involved in it? Hell no. Will it be the last? Not a chance. So why is it singled out about that? Anybody ever hear of a little movie called From Here to Eternity? One of the most popular movies of all time? It does the exact same thing. It's a love story set during the hours leading up to Pearl Harbor and during it. If they make a WTC movie there's no doubt in my mind at all that some romantic angle will be put in it. That's how they tell stories. Hell, even Spiderman got that right in the first few minutes of the narration...every good story involves a girl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
