Pearl Harbor (2001)
Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor (2001) pulled out all the stops to be a definitive war epic, the Titanic (1997) of World War II. It was the most expensive film ever produced but didn’t yield the critical acclaim of Titanic. The film follows two friends, both pilots. By December 1941, one is believed killed in action against the Luftwaffe in Europe (but SPOILER: in a surprise twist, he’s not dead), the other is stationed in Hawaii.
As tensions increase overseas, the two pursue career ambitions and romance, both ending up at the Pearl Harbor military base. But when the Japanese air forces begin their assault on Pearl Harbor, the two jump into planes at the nearby airfield, shooting down Japanese pilots before assisting at the wreckage of the fatally damaged USS Oklahoma and Arizona. The film follows the devastation of the attack, and the Doolittle mission to attack Tokyo in response.
