Neal,
I don't know if it's fair to compare my opinion of the movie with that of a
Pearl Harbor Survivor, but I'll give it a try. (There's no chance of giving
away the ending in a historical movie of this nature)
I'm pretty much in disagreement with the critics on this movie. I'm sure
part of this is due to who my father was, but even if it didn't hit so close
to home, the movie is entertaining. I personally agree with the choice of
weaving the story with the thread of different perspectives. Looking at the
era from the perspective of the pilots, nurses, black servicemen, and the
Japanese, gives everyone a better understanding of what the time was like.
Maybe the explosions are Hollywood style and overdone. I do believe it would
take a substantial amount of fire power to inflict the amount of damage that
went on that day. The chaos at the hospital must have been somewhat accurate
based on the massive amount of casualties. The oil soaked and burned
servicemen showing up for treatment were surely overwhelming to the doctors
and nurses.
As for acting, I'm not a big Ben Affleck fan, but there were other fire
performances, namely Jon Voight's clean capture of Franklin Roosevelt's
persona.
All in all, if you go to see it, go to be entertained. It's mostly accurate,
but not perfect. The hardest thing for a movie to achieve is living up to
its hype.
By the way, as a teenager, I went to the premier of Tora Tora Tora with the
Sacramento Chapter of Pearl Harbor Survivors. You really can't compare the
two movies. In a nutshell, Pearl Harbor tells the story "Titanic style."
Thanks to your father and his brothers for their service in WWII. Without
them and those like them, we wouldn't be where we are today.
Dave Carrier