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Essentially Bay went to direct a summer blockbuster that was more interested in entertaining rather than informing. “My mission with Pearl Harbor was not to outline a history lesson,” says Bay in the booklet that comes with the Director’s Cut, which sounds like his way of saying that we should forgive the historical slip ups because that wasn’t his primary concern. Instead, it was, “to capture a pivotal moment in history from a realistic, gripping perspective.” If that meant blowing shit up as fantastically as possible, then he succeeded. The Director’s Cut DVD comes packaged with two History Channel documentaries about the Doolittle raid and first hand accounts from those that were there. Their inclusion is a bold necessity, since they just so happen to be more historically accurate than the film they’re bundled with.

Released on the Memorial Day weekend of 2001, expectations were high, with some predicting a new opening weekend record. Despite the three hour running time, it still managed $59 million on its opening weekend. Then came that poster with the tagline, “Not since Titanic have the critics been so out of touch with their readers. - $75.2 million in first four days.” It seemed to be telling us that this here was a film considered awful, and yet it’s made money, so therefore you should see it too. It ultimately struggled to reach $200 million, taking $198 million in the US, with another $250 million worldwide.

Nominated for six Razzie awards, it didn’t win any, though it was nominated for four Oscars, notably technical categories, and won one for Sound Editing. Clearly it’s as a technical accomplishment, which is where the film excels. If anything, this was more a tribute to ILM then the survivors of Pearl Harbor. At the time, Bay even received praise from George Lucas, telling him that the effects in the film were the best he’d ever seen.

Pearl Harbor reeks of Hollywood! It’s too long, with the Doolittle bombing of Tokyo somewhat tacked on. It’s too glossy, with its high production value painting as much style over substance. It’s too Michael Bay, with its excess of slow motion shots, sunset skies and getting Beckinsale’s Evelyn to sit on some rocks at a beach, because it’s the most ideal place when it comes to writing a letter. And it’s too Ben Affleck, who has the most insanely white teeth. One could argue that there really wasn’t any need to make another film about Pearl Harbor, since a great one already existed, called Tora! Tora! Tora!, which to its advantage doesn’t have a clichéd love triangle and offers a better account of what actually happened.

Pearl Harbor is obviously flawed, yet over the years the ridiculousness has slowly become part of its charm. So, it's admittedly not a favourite, but like much of Bay's work there is something to enjoy, and the Director’s Cut does have more of an impact when it comes to the horrors of war. However, it has to be said that this version is still only half a good film.

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