" Hits the deck like a blind dive bomber pilot. "

      Title: Pearl Harbor by Buena Vista DVD

      Format: DVD War Movie

      Reviewing Monkey: Dungapult

      The Hype: "A day that will live in infamy" comes to a small screen near you. It's got love, it's got a romantic triangle, and- oh yeah, and the start of the biggest war in history is in there somewhere, too.

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Story and Acting: Did you know that Ben Affleck was pretty much responsible for our spearhead push against Japan in WWII? Well, if you didn't, you will after this flick. Evidently he was a pilot in every great air battle we had…Which is impressive considering that they occurred on different fronts, were flown by different fleets, on 3 different continents. And all the while he was in a romantic torrent that involved his would be wife and best friend. Quite the guy…and quite the horrible premise for a movie. Anytime you have one of the single most dramatic events in history (the bombing of Pearl Harbor) and it takes a BACK SEAT to some schmuck and his girl troubles you know your movie is going to hit the deck like a blind dive bomber pilot.
          The only up side is the performances by pretty much the entire cast. You can always tell the quality of an actor by how well they do with a crappy script, and Ben Affleck, Josh Harnett, Kate Beckinsale, Tom Sizemore all do wonderful despite the pitfalls this story offers. Worth the most mention, however, has to be Jon Voight as the venerable FDR…A performance so realistic you could almost transpose it with historical footage and not know the difference (well, again except for the crappy script). 1.5 out of 5

      Action: The action, as you'd well expect, mostly revolves around dogfights and dive-bombing…which is in no way a bad thing. The problem, as you might expect from a love story masquerading as a war flick, is how ridiculously little of it you get. Here's a hint folks- as a general rule of thumb guys don't like love with their war and ladies don't like war period. Thus the origins of phrases like "Chick Flick" and "Guys Movie". Movies that are one and pretend to be the other, like this one, usually end up satisfying no one. 3 out of 5

      Visuals and Directing: Ah, CGI is glorious and Pearl Harbor uses it in spades. Great rendering and what is likely interspersed modeling mean that the zeroes will put you on edge and the full view of the Japanese invasion will leave you in awe. All in all an incredibly visually appealing film. That being said, however, it must lose a point for some of the ridiculous camera shots and jumps the directing takes…You'd have to be brain dead to not roll your eyes at least three times. 4 out of 5

      Sound Track: Nice and emotional with large sweeping scores, Pearl Harbor jumps right in with films like Braveheart and Private Ryan for mood setting music. Of course, so often the mood they're pushing is tripe and so the score is forced to fall flat. 4 out of 5

      DVD Extras: Most products have a spot where they truly shine through and here's Pearl Harbor's. There is absolutely more extras and bonuses than you can shake a Browning .50 at. Interviews, commentaries, featurettes, Easter eggs, you name it and it's here. Let other companies take heed- this is exactly the kind of goodies we want for our hard earned bananas. Absolutely top notch. 5 out of 5

      Value vs. Price: Personally I think the movie blew. That being said, it's hard to give it a good mark for value. However, with all the extras and goodies it's hard to call it a waste of money. Hell, just for hours vs. dollars alone you're making out pretty damned good. 3.75 out of 5

      The Verdict:

Don't think of this as a war movie. As a matter of fact, don't think of it as a movie at all. Think of it as a collection of some nice CGI with a backdrop setting that won't nauseate you as much as the typical chick fair. All the extras and bonuses should help to ease your suffering, too.

      The Good: WWII action and lots of extras.

      The Bad: Very little WWII action comparatively and way, way, way too much love story for anyone's good.

      The Overall Ugly: If you have to rent it, make sure your girlfriend knows you're doing it for HER and then spend your time gawking at fighter planes and Kate Beckinsale respectively.

      What it's Worth: Rental...If it gets you out of watching another horrid love story.