Pearl Harbor

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Pearl Harbor

PG-13

2001

3h 3m

History

Drama

War

Action

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

24%

Tomatometer

195 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

This sweeping drama, based on real historical events, follows American boyhood friends Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) as they enter World War II as pilots. Rafe is so eager to take part in the war that he departs to fight in Europe alongside England's Royal Air Force. On the home front, his girlfriend, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), finds comfort in the arms of Danny. The three of them reunite in Hawaii just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

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Critics Consensus

Pearl Harbor tries to be the Titanic of war movies, but it's just a tedious romance filled with laughably bad dialogue. The 40 minute action sequence is spectacular though.

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Joe Morgenstern

Wall Street Journal

May 28, 2014

Pearl Harbor is a blockheaded, hollow-hearted industrial enterprise.

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Andrew Sarris

Observer

May 28, 2014

The best way to see the movie is as I did: expecting nothing and being pleasantly surprised, and strangely moved, by Mr. Bay's audacity in filming his lovers in end-of-the-world close-ups, however briefly.

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Anthony Lane

The New Yorker

May 28, 2014

The effect of watching a Michael Bay film is indistinguishable from having a large, pointy lump of rock drop on your head. His new picture, Pearl Harbor, maintains the mood.

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

May 25, 2026

2.5/5

Pearl Harbor is a film of uneven ambitions that never quite reconciles its competing priorities.

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Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

Apr 30, 2024

1.5/5

This formulaic three-hour opus seems to go on from here to eternity.

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Sergi Sánchez

Fotogramas

Jun 22, 2022

2/5

'Pearl Harbor' effortlessly self-parodies itself. [Full review in Spanish]

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Ham M

@RT36044019 2 days ago

Wow, one of the masterpices

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Mitchell S

@Mitchstur Oct 16, 2026

It's hard to feel for any of the main characters, but at least it's somewhat entertaining with its humor and tributes to the real life tragedy.

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Lucy T

@RT99539324 Oct 16, 2026

I came for the music, to hear it in context. The first half is a bit fragmented, but the score sometimes stays in the same key and holds it together, and once the bombing starts the film becomes far more captivating. Orchestra for honor, choir for the human side, drums as the heartbeat: the music suits the war genre well.

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John P

@Nimitz68 Oct 11, 2026

I have a degree in Military History and focus on Civil War times. Whether its Gettysburg, Gods & Generals, All Quiet, Pearl, Saving Private Ryan, Fury, etc.. etc.. there is a level of history mixed with entertainment. This type of movie allows your minds eye when reading what actually happened. Fictional, but who to say that something like this happened, at some point, to some fly boy and a nurse, somewhere. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, put into perspective the period. Sit and watch. Watch the other movies I have mentioned.. then, pickup a book about each period and then decide. How do you see the book... the stories.

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J K

@RT56851640 Oct 8, 2026

I love this movie..the romance ..the time it happened....all the creation of the planes making them like from the era......Kate so beautiful as always...the scenes about the war...I have watched it like 6 times in my life...I guess young people dont appreciate movies from 2000's .. And real history because that really happened ..to warriors who fought and died.

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Joe K

@JDK55 Oct 7, 2026

Good CGI scenes, but everything else was almost laughable.

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Michael Bay

Director

Ben Affleck

Rafe McCawley

Josh Hartnett

Danny Walker

Kate Beckinsale

Evelyn Stewart

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Doris "Dorie" Miller

Tom Sizemore

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Synopsis

This sweeping drama, based on real historical events, follows American boyhood friends Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) as they enter World War II as pilots. Rafe is so eager to take part in the war that he departs to fight in Europe alongside England's Royal Air Force. On the home front, his girlfriend, Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), finds comfort in the arms of Danny. The three of them reunite in Hawaii just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Director: Michael Bay
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Distributor: Buena Vista Home Video (BVHV), Touchstone Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Rating: PG-13 (Images of Wound|Brief Sensuality|Intense War Sequences|Some Language)
Genre: History, Drama, War, Action, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 25, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 23, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $198.5M
Runtime: 3h 3m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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