Okay, I haven’t even seen the trailer, nor have I even read any advanced reviews. I am basing this solely on the fact that it is produced/directed by Bruckheimer/Bay, the same two idiots who made the unbelievable piece of shit ‘Armegeddon’.
Pearl Harbor is essentially going to be ‘Armegeddon: The 40s’.
It will consists of lots of flashy and expensive but physically inaccurate and mindless action sequences, cliched and stereotyped characters, and even more inane and vacuous ra-ra gung-ho patriotism than Armegeddon did.
Ah, the event movie. James Cameron, where are you when we need you (Terminator 3? Avatar? Hell, I’d settle for True Lies 2 at this point…)
Off Topic: James Cameron isn’t making T3, some other idiot is doing it, and it sounds awful. But he is making True Lies 2 next.
On topic: I agree, to an extent. It looks like Bruckheimer is trying for a ‘Godzilla guys make Patriot’ kind of step up, but it’ll be all soppy stupid American Hero crap.
I boldly predict that this film will become one of the top three most well known films about that incident in the future. People will say, “From Here To Eternity, *Tora, Tora, Tora, and what was that piece of shit about Pearl Harbor…? Oh, yeah. Duh.”
If “Armageddon” is any indication, “Pearl Harbor” will also have absolutely no dramatic tension, because every single scene will be set to loud, intense, mind-bludgeoning music.
I, sir, have seen the trailer, and I can most assuredly tell you that it will consists of lots of flashy and expensive but physically inaccurate and mindless action sequences, cliched and stereotyped characters, and even more inane and vacuous ra-ra gung-ho patriotism than Armegeddon did.
Wait, that sounds familiar.
Eh, screw it, I’ll probably plunk down my 9 bucks.
I saw the trailer a few months ago, and it looked awesome. Until Bruckheimer’s name came up. Then my heart sank.
That made me realize that it isn’t going to be a gripping action/adventure/drama, but mindless special effects driven crapfest. The latest commercials seem to be pointing in the direction of crapfest. I’ll probably go see it, but if it is as bad as Armegeddon I’m staying away from now on.
I agree with the OP. Plus, it’s much harder to make a movie great, when we know what will happen. All the key plot elements are already known, so there is much less suspense. Yea, it’ll be horrible.
No movie ABOUT Pearl Harbor and ever come close to the the impact of the interviews with the guys that WERE THERE.
In 1991, for the 50th anniversary, there were many docs. made. The outstanding one for me----an interview with one of the guys whose ship was either the ARIZONA or the OKLAHOMA. (IT HAD ROLLED OVER) Hadn’t been aboard that morning—stood dockside 2/3 days LATER and could STILL HEAR the men tapping/pounding on the bulkhead, voices of his shipmates calling for help. He could barely tell the story. The horror and frustration etched on his face and in his voice.
I guess, I was one of those who thought that everyone had been killed outright.
I suspect you’re right. My grandfather was there; my dad was 3 years old, and my uncle was born the day before the bombing, so my grandmother was in the hospital at Fort Island with the baby at the time. My grandfather had plenty of trippy stories about that time. He passed on about 5 years ago, and the Pearl Harbors Survivors did a little gig at his funeral. It was kindof weird because they wear hawaiian shirts as part of their uniforms.
To further heighten your fear, consider this: I heard a critic compare it to Titanic. That is, they’ve taken an historical event and added on a fictional love story…
Gosh, I hope it stars Pauley Shore and Tom Green. Then we’d have everything!
There’s no possible way it could be as bad as “Midway,” which had a fictional love story added into a (Closely related) historical event, but which also had the cheesiest effects and spliced war footage in the history of cinema. IT also featured hilarious scenes with Japanese officers who spoke California Member-Of-The-Screen-Actors-Guild English. I kept expecting Admiral Nagumo to say “Surf’s up, dude! Let’sw bomb he Yorktown!”
That said, anyone else turn up their nose at the scene in the trailer where the Japanese planes are flying down the valley past the kids playing baseball? It’s a beautifully shot scene, just visually stunning, but what kids are out playing baseball at 7:45 in the morning?
This has always been bugging me too! But this is the kind of symbolism that Bruckner and Bay are capable of doing.
I just noticed that the two ‘boy scouts’ standing on a hill when the Zeros fly by are peeing. Plus the buzzing of the woman doing laundry is stolen directly from Empire of the Sun. (except in that movie it was a Mustang)
But I’ve got news for you all. This movie isn’t just about Peral Harbor and a cheesy love story. (I wonder if they will do the animal cracker bit again?) It has an upbeat ending as we go get those Jap Bastards back with Doolitles raid on Tokyo. That will send them out smiling.
And Just one rehtorical question.
When exactly did America lose it’s innocence? Was it Pearl Harbor? Was the the Civil War? Was it the assigination of JFK? Was it Viet Nam? Was it Watergate? I mean we seem to keep losing our innocence and getting back and losing it again.
I’ve so been looking forward to this movie! Please don’t tell me it’s going to suck! I hate when that happens. My big movie last summer was The Patriot and I was so disappointed with it. I don’t want that to happen again.
Although…[sub]I liked Armageddon…maybe there’s hope for me after all…or maybe not.
I have several things to say here…some on topic, some not…
:: groaning ::
OK.
I really liked The Rock, and wasn’t that a Bruckheimer film? I never saw Armageddon, so I think perhaps the Rock is the only one I’ve seen of his movies.
Regardless of The Rock, I know Pearl Harbor will suck because in my experience: movies that have sweeping epic, big ass trailers forty years before the movie comes out…suck. My examples? The Patriot, The Lost World and, of course…Godzilla.
I LOVED True Lies. God BLESS it I loved True Lies. It made me love Tom Arnold for god’s sake. And what about when Arnold was given the truth serum and his wife asks “are we going to die?” and he just looks at her, big dumb oaf, and says: “yep”. Hilarity. I love Arnold.
Zebra I knew I’d recognized that scene before. I LOVE EMPIRE OF THE SUN. That’s in my top three movies of all time I think. The best WWII movie I’ve seen.
I had a friend who once told me that he liked Armageddon. I replied that I will never be interested in his opinion about a movie again. That movie is awful and stupid on so many levels. Besides the ceaseless, pounding soundtrack, there was hardly a shot in the movie that lasted more than a few seconds. It was an endless parade of quick cuts. It was like watching a videotape of a hyperkinetic MTV video stuck in fast forward. Easily the most visually annoying movie I’ve ever sat through. Gave me a bloody headache. I never thought I would witness a worse production…until I saw Godzilla.
I was once looking forward to Pearl Harbor, but when I heard who made it, :eek: I started having second thoughts about seeing it.
And third thoughts.
And fourth thoughts…
I agree with the OP…Pearl Harbor is going to suck, and that’s a shame, since by having a high-profile piece of crap film like this out there, it seems to tarnish somewhat the memory of those who died at the real Pearl Harbor.
And has anyone heard how the Doolittle raid is going to be handled in this movie?
