Movie Review – Pearl Harbor (2001)

Our review of Pearl Harbor-themed films concludes with the biggest (and probably most disappointing) film of them all — 2001’s blockbuster Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor is an epic war film that follows two American fighter pilots before and after the Japanese air raid on December 7, 1941.  One pilot volunteers to fight with England’s Royal Air Force while the other is sent to a squadron in Pearl Harbor.  They’re reunited just prior to the attack, and during the air raid they use their P-40 Warhawks to shoot down several enemy aircraft.  Several months later they fly with James Doolittle and his historic bombing of Japan.  There’s also a love story involving the two pilots and their affections for a nurse.

Directed by Michael Bay, Pearl Harbor was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.  The film stars Ben Affleck as Lieutenant Rafe McCawley.  Co-starring in the film are Josh Hartnett as Rafe’s best friend, Lieutenant Daniel Walker; and Kate Beckinsale as Nurse Evelyn Johnson.  Supporting them are a variety of Hollywood celebrities including Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, and Alec Baldwin.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Pearl Harbor begins at a Tennessee farm in 1923.

Rafe McCawley and Daniel “Danny” Walker are best friends.  Rafe’s father is a crop duster pilot while Danny’s father is a farmer.  One day after Rafe’s father returns, the boys climb into the aircraft and pretend to fly it.  As they flick the switches and play with the controls, the engine suddenly comes to life.  A moment later the biplane is roaring down the dirt runway and it briefly flies in the air.  The biplane lands and the boys bring it to a halt.  They’re exhilarated by the flight but Danny’s catches hell from his father who witnessed the incident.

Fast forward to January of 1941.

War is raging in Europe and it’s just a matter of time before America finally joins the fight.  In the meantime, the American military continues training its pilots and sharpening their skills.

At Mitchel Field on Long Island, New York, both Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) are first lieutenants in the Army Air Corps and pilots of the P-40 Warhawk.  At the end of one of their training sessions, both of the pilots do a little showboating in front of their peers.  They aim their aircraft at each other and then suddenly break away at the last second in a game of “chicken.”  The maneuver thrills their colleagues but it lands them in hot water with their commanding officer, Major James “Jimmy” Doolittle (Alec Baldwin).

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

After being chewed out by Doolittle, Rafe talks his way out of more trouble by pointing out Doolittle’s own history of barnstorming and reckless piloting.  In the end of the meeting Doolittle informs Rafe that he has been accepted into the Eagle Squadron (an outfit in England’s Royal Air Force (RAF) with American pilots).  Rafe accepts the offer to fight the Germans, though he later tells Danny that Doolittle assigned him to fight in England.

That evening a bunch of nurses join the Army Air Corps pilots for drinks and dancing at a club in New York City.  While the nurses are riding a train to NYC we hear Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale) tell the story of how she met Rafe several weeks earlier while he was in the nurse’s station to complete his annual physical examination.  At the club, Lieutenant Red Winkle (Ewen Bremner) meets a young nurse named Betty Bayer (Jaime King).

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Rafe and Evelyn slip away from the night club and find themselves in a small police boat in New York Harbor.  They cruise around the harbor and find themselves next to the RMS Queen Mary.  The two of them fall in love though Rafe later mentions that he’ll be leaving the next day for England and the Eagle Squadron.  He tells Evelyn not to see him off, but she still goes to the train station the following day though she doesn’t find him there.  Rafe still takes it as a sign of her commitment.

A little while later Rafe arrives in England and meets his squadron commander.  He’s also introduced to the Submarine Spitfire fighter aircraft that he’ll be flying against the Germans.  It turns out that the previous pilot of that aircraft just died moments ago.  The pilot made it back to the airfield and shut down his engine when the airfield, and his Spitfire, was strafed by a German pilot.  The pilot was killed and the Spitfire’s cockpit is literally a bloody mess.  It’s a pretty bleak situation but England needs all the fighter pilots that it can find.

Back in Washington, D.C., President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Jon Voight) is growing more and more concerned about America’s lack of readiness for war.  He points out that America’s enemies are busy building munitions while America is building refrigerators and cars.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Over in Japan, Admiral Yamamoto (Mako) is also concerned about his country.  According to him, Japan’s oil supply is only going to last the country another eighteen months.  The Americans had cut off their supply of oil and placed a stranglehold on the country.  He claims that they have no option but war with America.  Admiral Yamamoto declares that Japan will strike a mighty blow to America’s Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel (Colm Feore) is also growing concerned the way that the Pentagon orders him to transfer a bunch of destroyers to the Atlantic Ocean to help in England’s fight.  Admiral Kimmel needs to know how he’s supposed to keep Pearl Harbor and the Pacific Fleet ready to fight Japan when his ships are being sent elsewhere.  One of his officers informs the admiral that Pearl Harbor is too shallow for torpedoes, they have sub nets around the island, and aircraft have been bunched together to help prevent acts of sabotage.  Distance from their enemy is their best defense.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Nurse Evelyn and her fellow nurses are transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  So is Lt. Danny Walker and his fellow squadron pilots.  They quickly adjust to the quiet and paradise style of life out there as Rafe fights in air battles against the Germans.  As he fights the enemy and racks up kills, he and Evelyn write back and forth to one another, continuing their long-distance relationship.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Rafe’s campaign in the Eagle Squadron ends the day he flies on a mission and is shot down by a German Me 109 fighter aircraft.  His Spitfire makes a crash landing off the coast of England, and Rafe is presumed to have been killed.  When news of his death finally reaches Danny out in Pearl Harbor, he takes it upon himself to tell Evelyn the bad news.  Evelyn is finishing tending to Doris Miller‘s (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) boxing wounds when Danny informs her of Rafe’s death.  The rest of the squadron also take the news hard, and they all have a drink to their lost friend.

It takes some time for both Evelyn and Danny to recover from the news of Rafe’s death.  At one point Danny finally works up the nerve to ask Evelyn out on a date, and the two of them start seeing each other on a regular basis.  While their relationship grows, so does that of Red and Betty.  Red asks Betty to marry him one night while they’re out with friends.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Meanwhile, the Japanese navy continues preparing for its strike against Pearl Harbor.  Spies take pictures of the navy’s ships while engineers design torpedoes to operate in Pearl’s shallow water.  While this is taking place the Department of the Navy is analyzing Japan’s coded messages.  Captain Thurman (Dan Aykroyd) is one of the intelligence officers who is trying to figure out where Japan is going to strike.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

One late afternoon, Evelyn visits Danny at his airfield.  Danny takes the opportunity to sneak Evelyn into his single-seat P-40 and take her for a flight above Pearl Harbor at sunset.  Naturally, this impresses Evelyn and she falls in love with Danny.  After he lands and parks his aircraft, the two of them sneak into a parachute building and make their relationship physical.  Evelyn thinks that being with him that soon is a mistake, but Danny convinces her to stay together.  They do so and their relationship continues to grow stronger.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

As time passes, Japan’s actions become more suspicious.  In late November it’s noticed that a massive Japanese task force containing several carriers is missing.  It’s somewhere in the northern Pacific Ocean in an area known as the “vacant sea.”  This area of the ocean is large enough to hide the entire landmass of Asia.  From that position the Japanese task force can strike anywhere in the Pacific Ocean, and nobody would know about it until it was too late.

In early December everybody is shocked when it’s learned that Rafe McCawley is alive.  He was rescued by a French boat and it took some time before he was able to reach England and send notification to everybody.  Rafe shows up at Pearl Harbor on December 6, just as his telegrams are arriving.  His squadron mates are thrilled to have him back, and Evelyn is also pleased.  The only problem is that she’s now in a physical relationship with his best friend.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

While at a bar and telling war stories, Rafe begins showing his anger towards Danny and how he was a lousy friend by going after his woman.  To his defense, Danny tells Rafe that he only went after Evelyn well after Rafe was reported as dead.  But Rafe doesn’t believe him.  Rafe and Danny get into a fight which sparks a brawl at the bar, but they’re able to escape while the MPs arrive and begin arresting people.  The two of them drive out to a beach and resolve their differences and sleep away the alcohol.

The next morning is Sunday, December 7, 1941.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Japanese bombers and attack aircraft depart from the six aircraft carriers in the task force and head to Hawaii.  They have complete surprise when beginning their attack at Pearl Harbor.  Torpedo planes unleash their weapons and all hell breaks loose.  The Japanese aircraft have complete superiority as they bomb and attack the ships on battleship row and attack other high-value targets.  The USS Arizona battleship is hit by a bomb that penetrates to its magazine room before detonating.  The explosion is tremendous and literally blasts apart the massive warship.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Sailors and soldiers jump into action as the surprise attack continues.  More ships are heavily damaged.  The USS West Virginia is hit and its captain is mortally wounded.  After informing the ship’s executive officer that he’s now in command, Doris Miller mans a machine gun and shoots down a Japanese aircraft.  The USS Oklahoma is also heavily damaged and the ship rolls and capsizes, trapping numerous crew within the hull of the sinking battleship.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Rafe and Danny are asleep on the beach when the noise of the attack suddenly wakes them.  They jump into their car and race back to Hickman Field, but the aircraft are too damaged.  Danny gives a call to Earl (Tom Sizeman) over at Wheeler Field and tells him to be ready for their arrival.  They and some other pilots race to the next airfield before the Japanese make it their next target.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

The Japanese begin bombing Wheeler Field, but Rafe and Danny are able to take off in their P-40s.  They have to do some high-seed, low-level flying to escape from a couple of A6M Zeros hot on their tails.  It’s not until Rafe and Danny play “chicken” and do some other tricks that they finally gain the upper hand and can climb into the sky.  Up in the sky the two Americans continue their fight and manage to shoot down a total of seven enemy aircraft.

Back at Pearl Harbor, the nurses are busy trying to care for the wounded that come pouring into their hospital.  Betty is killed while trying to run for cover.  At one point Nurse Evelyn has to place her fingers into a man’s artery to keep him from bleeding to death.  She’s later ordered to go outside and label all of the wounded worth saving and those that are going to die.  After Rafe and Danny return from their flight they volunteer to give blood, but they’re quickly ordered to help save the sailors in the sinking ships.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

After the Japanese attack is finished, and while surrounded by incredible damage and destruction, Admiral Kimmel finally receives a telegram warning him of the imminent attack by Japan.

The next day, on December 8th, President Roosevelt makes his Day of Infamy Speech about the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.  As we know from history, Congress then declared war against Japan less than an hour after President Roosevelt gave his famous speech.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

President Roosevelt then has a meeting with his advisors and demands that the U.S. attacks Japan.  When his top people claim that such an attack is impossible at the moment, Roosevelt uses all of his strength to climb out of his wheelchair and stand on his own feet.  According to him, nothing is impossible.  A short while later a submarine commander creates an idea for how to immediately attack Japan without risking an aircraft carrier.  The president is sold on the idea.

Rafe and Danny are immediately reassigned to Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle’s command and sent back to the continental U.S.  Before departing, Rafe and Evelyn finally talk to set things straight.  She tells Rafe that she’ll always love him, but when he and Danny return from their mission, then she’s going to stay with him.  Evelyn reveals that she’s pregnant and she doesn’t want Danny to know until after his mission.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Before departing for their flight, Evelyn visits the airfield to see Danny one last time.  Evelyn reassures Danny that she only loves him and she’ll be waiting for him for when he returns.  The two of them embrace one last time.

Back on the mainland, Colonel Doolittle is impressed with Rafe and Danny’s enemy kills during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.  Both of them are promoted to the rank of captain and also awarded the Silver Star medal.  They’re two of only a few American pilots with actual combat experience.  He recruits them both to fly in a secret mission that will begin training in a few months.  Rafe and Danny then spend some time on a beach where Rafe reads his old love letters from Evelyn.  He and Danny sit down and resolve their differences.  Rafe tries to convince Danny to stay behind and not go on the mission, but he refuses.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

On March 3, 1942, Colonel Doolittle begins training his pilots for their secret mission.  The pilots are to learn how to fly B-25 Mitchell bombers off of an aircraft carrier.  The pilots quickly become adjusted to flying the larger, bulkier and slower bombers.  They practice their short-field takeoff and simulate flying off of a carrier’s deck.  The training works and soon the men are ready for their mission.

In April of 1942 the bombers are loaded onto the USS Hornet aircraft carrier, and they head west across the Pacific Ocean.  Once they’re at sea Colonel Doolittle finally reveals the details of the mission.  The mission is going to have them use their bombers to bomb Tokyo, Japan.  Afterwards they’ll continue flying to China and ditch their aircraft.  They’ll then link up with Chinese soldiers and use their help to return to the U.S. military.  History remembers this event as the famous Doolittle Raid.

Back in Hawaii, Evelyn finds Major Jackson (Leland Orser), the man she saved when using her fingers to stop his artery from bleeding during the raid on Pearl Harbor.  He works with communications and she talks her way of letting her be in the communication’s room when there’s news about the secret raid.  Major Jackson reluctantly agrees and assigns her a typing position in the room, allowing her to hear the reports as they’re made on the radio.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

On April 18,1942, the USS Hornet discovers a Japanese fishing vessel making a radio report about the carrier.  Doolittle makes the decision to launch the bombers now even though they’re almost out of range of making it to China.  All of the bombers have to lighten their load, and extra cans of fuel are placed in the aircraft.  Col. Doolittle’s B-25 leads the way, and one by one, all of the B-25 bombers successfully take off from the Hornet and begin their flight to Japan.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

The flight of B-25 bombers make it to Tokyo without incident.  They drop their bombs right on target and deliver a little payback from the U.S.A.  Earlier, Colonel Doolittle explained that such a mission really won’t make much of an impact against Japan’s war machine, but it’ll terrify the Japanese people knowing that they’re within reach of an attack.  It’s a significant psychological impact for both the U.S. and Japan.  Japanese anti-aircraft artillery fires upon the bombers, but Doolittle’s raiders make a getaway.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

By the time the B-25s reach the coast of China, most of the aircraft are running out of fuel.  Engines seize and the pilots are forced to make crash landings in a rice paddy.  Unfortunately, they land in an area occupied by Japanese soldiers.  One of the Japanese patrols discovers Rafe’s crew and pins them down, but Danny’s B-25 shoots the Japanese soldiers and rescues Rafe.  It’s a hard landing though for Danny and he’s injured pretty badly from the wreckage.  Rafe has to pull a piece of metal out of his friend’s neck.  Unfortunately, more Japanese soldiers arrive and start taking the American airmen prisoner.  Rafe finds a pistol and starts killing the Japanese until he runs out of ammunition.  Just as a Japanese soldier is about to shoot Rafe, Danny jumps in front and is shot multiple times by other soldiers.  The rest of the Americans jump onto the guns and return fire, killing the rest of the Japanese soldiers.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

The damage is done though and Danny is mortally wounded.  Before his friend dies, Rafe tells him that Evelyn’s pregnant and he’s going to be a father.  Danny passes on the job of being a father to Rafe and then he dies.

Later, Rafe returns to Evelyn and tells her what happened to Danny.  After that is a montage of various sailors and soldiers receiving medals and special attention for their heroic deeds during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – (c) Buena Vista Pictures

Pearl Harbor ends a couple of years later with Rafe and Evelyn now married and living in Tennessee.  Rafe is now a crop duster pilot like his father.  Their son, Danny, is named after the boy’s biological father and Rafe’s best friend.

So is Pearl Harbor any good?

Yes and no, mainly no.

The less you know about the military, then the chances are better that you’ll enjoy Pearl Harbor.

First of all, this film isn’t terrible.  The acting is good, the visuals are outstanding, the combat scenes are exciting, and the film’s score is good as well.  It’s the storyline and attention to history and some technicality issues where Pearl Harbor runs into trouble.

Remember that Pearl Harbor is a Jerry Bruckheimer film, not that that’s a negative.  The man knows how to make big films appeasing towards average people.  His films normally have a lot of action and show scenes that people would *expect* to see versus making them technically accurate.  This works for average people, and as a result, even in the case of Pearl Harbor, almost all of his big action films have been wildly successful in the U.S. and overseas.

Where does Pearl Harbor fail?

For starters, the story itself is simply too grand.  It throws in too many events for this small group of characters.  This could have been a fine film if it centered around the Eagle Squadron, the attack at Pearl Harbor, or the Doolittle Raid itself.  Instead, Pearl Harbor throws all of that together along with some pretty far-fetched coincidences and quite a bit of military fantasy.  Oh, and there’s also a love story in there as well, but it’s pretty weak.

The technical problems depend on how closely you look at the film.

For starters, the crop duster that young Rafe and Danny fly in the beginning of the film didn’t exist in 1923, especially with its electric starter.  Nor would Rafe have known how to accurately use (or even reach) the controls to not only make the biplane fly but also bringing it back down for a safe landing.

When Rafe is in the Eagle Squadron he flies a version of the Spitfire that wasn’t developed until later in the war.  Much of that aerial combat is also too low to the ground.  Why would the Me 109 fly so low to the ground when it was vastly superior and more maneuverable higher in the air?

Did you notice how some of the Japanese bombers were painted green?  They were painted white in real life.  The green paint was chosen to make them look better and easier for the average person to identify.

How about how the Japanese aircraft were actually taking off from a modern aircraft carrier with an angled flight deck?  That’s very noticeable later in the film during the Doolittle Raid as well.  At one point you can also see the steam catapults that modern carriers use to launch aircraft.

The sequence where Rafe and Danny climb into P-40s and fight the Japanese Zeros at low-altitude was wildly inaccurate as well.  While two American pilots did use P-40s and fight the Japanese in real life, those dogfights were much higher in the air.  That sequence that we saw in the film was created to make it look more exciting to the average person.  Think it happened that way in real life?  Guess again.

Faith Hill – There You’ll Be

Speaking of more historical inaccuracies, that whole takeoff sequence with the B-25s was also incorrect.  When training and on the aircraft carrier, the pilots stood on the brakes until the engines were at full power.  Once the engines were at maximum power, they then released the brakes and completed their takeoff roll.  The bombers also didn’t circle the USS Hornet in formation either.  Once airborne each aircraft headed in the direction of Japan.  They didn’t have the fuel to keep orbiting just to wait for everybody else.

It should also be mentioned that the real Doolittle Raid failed to strike any military targets.  Their bombs either missed the targets completely or only hit non-military targets.  As far as the real air crews, of the 80 Raiders on the mission, three died during or after the crash landings in China, and three more were later executed in Japan.  The rest of the Raiders eventually found their way back to the U.S., though some of them were held in captivity for some time.

Almost all of the air crews managed to bail from their bombers and parachute to the ground, most of them landing uninjured.  One of the more notable cases was when one of the B-25s had to make a water landing off the coast of China and two of the crew members were killed.

In the film it’s presented that the downed air crews made it back to Pearl Harbor within a few days of landing in China.  That was not true.  It took several days for most of the air crews to reach their designated safe zones in China, and most of the men didn’t return to a U.S. military base until May of 1942, several weeks after the raid.  That scene with Rafe and his men escorting Danny’s coffin back to Pearl Harbor?  Yeah, it would NOT have happened in real life.

What Pearl Harbor didn’t mention about the Doolittle Raid was Japan’s Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign to search for the American B-25 air crews.  The Japanese soldiers used germ warfare along with other brutal tactics, and all civilians found with American gear (the Americans traded their gear in return for favors from the Chinese who aided them) were killed.  It’s estimated that 250,000 Chinese civilians died as punishment while Japanese soldiers hunted for the missing airmen.

Pearl Harbor (2001) – movie trailer

The more you know about military history, then the less likely you’ll enjoy Pearl Harbor.  The film could have been outstanding if it was done correctly.  Unfortunately, this is simply not the case.  Military aircraft and history was severely dumbed-down for almost anybody to understand.  The result is a visually stunning film that has a mediocre story and fails when it comes down to accuracy.

Commander Tubbs – “Some people frown on the Yanks for not being in this war. I’d just like to say that if there are any more back home like you, God help anyone who goes to war with America.”

—————–

Evelyn – “You died Rafe. So did I.”

—————–

President Franklin D. Roosevelt – “I like sub commanders. They have no time for bullshit, and neither do I.”

—————–

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle – “I heard what you did.”
Rafe – “We can explain that, sir.”
Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle – “Explain what?”
Danny – “Whatever it is you heard about us, sir.”
Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle – “You mean the hula shirts you were flying in… or the seven planes you shot down.”

—————–

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle – “You know what top secret is?”
Rafe – “Yes, sir. It’s the kind of mission where you get medals, but they send ’em to your relatives.”

—————–

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle – “Secretary of the Navy gave me these.”
Danny – “What are they?”
Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle – “Friendship medals the Japanese gave us when they were pretending they wanted peace.”
Rafe – “What do you want me to do with them sir?”
Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle – “We’re gonna wire them to the bombs and give them back.”

—————–

Red – “We’re the tip of the sword.”