Movie Critics
Visitors at the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor often sense a feeling of deep sorrow, an almost instantaneous mourning for thousands of men who perished there on December 7, 1941. Now because of Randall Wallace and Michael Bay's film, Pearl Harbor, all people can come close to experiencing the destruction that swept through Battleship Row that day. Based upon the film's effective use of cinematography, careful attention to historical details, and action packed battle scenes, Pearl Harbor lives up to the audience's expectations. Based upon the events surrounding the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor naval base on the morning of December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor tells the story of two childhood friends (Rafe and Danny), both U.S. Army pilots who fall in love with the same woman (Evelyn). The film can best be understood if viewed in three parts. The first part focuses on the love story between the three leads. The second part reveals the actual events that transpire before and during the Japenese attack. The third part involves the aftermath for the United States and the individuals involved in the love story. Michael Bay's excellent camera work and skillful film editing in Pearl Harbor connects the viewer emot
ionally to the harsh reality before, during, and after the attack of Pearl Harbor. Its emotional impact, informative nature and entertaining action offer an avenue for all audiences to relate to the events surrounding Pearl Harbor. Wallace provides the audiences with just enough factual information, like the wooden fins added to the torpedoes to allow them to work in the shallow waters of the harbor, to understand the Japanese techniques of surprise. Other critics found the script to be simpleminded. For forty minutes, Michael Bay uses every tool possible in creating breathtaking war images like a point-of-view shot of a Japanese bomb hurling toward the deck of the USS Arizona and the starling shot of the battleship lifted out of the water and snapped in two by the explosion. Several times the movie cuts away to Japan showing Admiral Yamamoto and other Japanese officers at a fascinating battle planning session. At another point, the movie cuts to the U. Again, Wallace provides the audience the factual details about the United States method for interpreting information at the time. Military Intelligences Office showing naval personnel working at breaking the Japanese code. The blurred moments, juggled film stock, lenses, and color treatments create a collage of destruction and emotions. Blurred moments in the film reflect the stress, fear, and confusion portrayed at the hospital as Evelyn, an Army nurse, must perform triage on the hundreds of casualties that flood her hospital, using lipstick to mark those doomed to die on the front lawn. While the film spent much time developing the characters in the love story through their eyes the audience develops a true emotional understanding of what it was like to live through Pearl Harbor. Reviewers of the Pearl Harbor argue its value on several counts. Unlike the movie, Saving Private Ryan, Michael Bay captures these horrific scenes without being overly violent.
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Acceptance Essays
