DVD Reviews

Pearl Harbor

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Ben Affleck
• Details: US / 173 mins / (12PG).

Rafe McCawley (Affleck) and Danny Walker (Hartnett) are childhood buddies with a mutual obsession for flying, who grow up to be air force pilots. Desperate for combat, Rafe leaves his best buddy and his girl and volunteers to fly with the British. In his absence, Danny and Evelyn (Beckinsale) become close, as does American involvement in the war with the Japanese preparing for a surprise attack on the navy's fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor.
It may have aspirations to be an old fashioned Hollywood epic, but Pearl Harbor is based on a shaky love triangle that never quite captures the imagination or emotions. Admittedly, the frequent battle scenes and central assault on the Harbor are among the most impressive ever committed to film. Visually stunning as they are, however, it can't cloud the fact that style dictates substance in Pearl Harbor. Expect it to break all box office records.

Review by Garreth Murphy