pearl harbor summary essay

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Pearl Harbor

By: History.com Editors

Updated: December 6, 2022 | Original: October 29, 2009

Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Just before 8 a.m. on that Sunday morning, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

Japan and the Path to War

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise , but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades.

The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market.

To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities.

American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.

Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground. During months of negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C ., neither side would budge. It seemed that war was all but inevitable.

Where Is Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii , is located near the center of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland and about 4,000 miles from Japan. No one believed that the Japanese would start a war with an attack on the distant islands of Hawaii.

Additionally, American intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would take place in one of the (relatively) nearby European colonies in the South Pacific: the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina .

Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were relatively undefended. Almost the entire Pacific Fleet was moored around Ford Island in the harbor, and hundreds of airplanes were squeezed onto adjacent airfields.

To the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was an irresistibly easy target.

USS Arizona

The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan’s armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.

At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside.

Next, torpedoes pierced the shell of the battleship USS Oklahoma . With 400 sailors aboard, the Oklahoma lost her balance, rolled onto her side and slipped underwater.

Less than two hours later, the surprise attack was over, and every battleship in Pearl Harbor— USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Utah, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee and USS Nevada —had sustained significant damage. (All but USS Arizona and USS Utah were eventually salvaged and repaired.)

Impact of the Pearl Harbor Attack

In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most importantly, more than 2,000 people died.

But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet’s carriers were away from the base on December 7. (Some had returned to the mainland and others were delivering planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands.)

Moreover, the Pearl Harbor assault had left the base’s most vital onshore facilities—oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks—intact. As a result, the U.S. Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly from the attack.

How Many People Died in Pearl Harbor? 

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel , including sailors, soldiers and civilians. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed. 

Half of the dead at Pearl Harbor were on the USS Arizona. Today the sunken battleship serves as a memorial to all Americans who died in the attack.

'A Date Which Will Live in Infamy'

President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the crushing attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

He went on to say, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.”

America Enters World War II

After the Pearl Harbor attack, and for the first time during years of discussion and debate, the American people were united in their determination to go to war.

The Japanese had wanted to goad the United States into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions against them; instead, they had pushed their adversary into a global conflict that ultimately resulted in Japan’s first occupation by a foreign power.

Did you know? The single vote against Congress's declaration of war against Japan came from Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana. Rankin was a pacifist who had also voted against the American entrance into World War I. "As a woman," she said, "I can’t go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."

On December 8, Congress approved Roosevelt’s declaration of war on Japan . Three days later, Japan’s allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

For the second time, Congress reciprocated, declaring war on the European powers. More than two years after the start of World War II , the United States had entered the conflict.

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Course: US history   >   Unit 7

• Beginning of World War II
• 1940 - Axis gains momentum in World War II
• 1941 Axis momentum accelerates in WW2

Pearl Harbor

• FDR and World War II
• Japanese internment
• American women and World War II
• 1942 Tide turning in World War II in Europe
• World War II in the Pacific in 1942
• 1943 Axis losing in Europe
• American progress in the Pacific in 1944
• 1944 - Allies advance further in Europe
• 1945 - End of World War II
• The Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb
• The United Nations
• The Second World War
• Shaping American national identity from 1890 to 1945

• On the morning of December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• The surprise attack by some 350 Japanese aircraft sunk or badly damaged eighteen US naval vessels, including eight battleships, destroyed or damaged 300 US aircraft, and killed 2,403 men.
• Across the nation, Americans were stunned, shocked, and angered. The attack turned US public opinion in favor of entering the Second World War . The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941.
• Japan’s allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the United States on December 11. The United States responded in kind, and therefore entered World War II.

The Pearl Harbor attack

Motive for the attack, forewarnings about the attack, what do you think.

• On the attack at Pearl Harbor and the events surrounding it, see David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 500-526; Gordon W. Prange, At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981), 499-504.
• Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 521-522.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt, “ Address to Congress Requesting a Declaration of War with Japan December 8, 1941 ." Courtesy the American Presidency Project.
• Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 512.
• See James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History (New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2001), 470.
• Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 519.
• Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 517, 525.

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Prelude to war

Warnings and responses.

• Investigations, accusations, and interpretations

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor?

How long did the pearl harbor attack last, was the pearl harbor attack successful, did the pearl harbor attack signal the beginning of world war ii for the united states, what is pearl harbor like today.

Pearl Harbor attack

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• Imperial War Museums - What Happened At The Pearl Harbor?
• HistoryNet - Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941
• The National WWII Museum - The Path to Pearl Harbor
• Naval History and Heritage Command - Overview of the Pearl Harbor Attack, 7 December 1941
• The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History - Atomic Heritage Foundation - Attack on Pearl Harbor – 1941
• Warfare History Network - How Pearl Harbor Happened
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Holocaust Encyclopedia - Pearl Harbor
• United States History - Pearl Harbor attack
• National Museum of the United States Army - The Attack on Pearl Harbor
• Pearl Harbor - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Pearl Harbor - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
• Table Of Contents

By mid-1941 the United States had severed all economic relations with Japan and was providing material and financial support to China. Japan had been at war with China since 1937, and the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 ensured that the Soviets were no longer a threat to the Japanese on the Asian mainland. The Japanese believed that once the U.S. Pacific Fleet was neutralized, all of Southeast Asia would be open for conquest.

The first Japanese dive-bomber appeared over Pearl Harbor at 7:55 AM (local time) on December 7, 1941. Over the next half hour, Pearl Harbor’s airfields and docked ships were subjected to a merciless assault with bombs, guns, and torpedoes. A second wave struck at 8:50 AM, and the Japanese withdrew shortly after 9:00 AM. In just over an hour, the Japanese destroyed more than 180 aircraft and destroyed or damaged more than a dozen ships. More than 2,400 U.S. military members and civilians were killed.  Learn more in this infographic.

In the short term, the American naval presence in the Pacific was severely weakened. However, the Japanese had largely ignored the harbour’s infrastructure, and many of the damaged ships were repaired on-site and returned to duty. In addition, the Pacific Fleet’s three aircraft carriers were not present at Pearl Harbor (one had been scheduled to return the day before the attack, but it was delayed by bad weather). American opinion immediately shifted to favouring war with Japan, a course that would conclude with Japan’s unconditional surrender less than four years later.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor marked the beginning of the Pacific war for the U.S., but it did not necessarily mean that the U.S. had become a combatant in the war in Europe. By December 1941, German armies had stalled on the Eastern Front, and it seemed foolhardy for Adolf Hitler to declare war on yet another great power under such circumstances. The Tripartite Pact only obligated Germany to defend Japan if the latter was attacked, not if it was the aggressor. Nevertheless, Germany declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941. Later that month, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met U.S. Pres. Franklin Roosevelt at the Arcadia Conference in Washington, D.C., and the two agreed on a “Europe first” policy for the defeat of Nazi Germany .

Pearl Harbor is a U.S. Navy base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Adjacent to the harbour is Hickam Air Force Base, and the two installations were merged in 2010 to become Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. The USS Arizona remains where it sank on December 7, 1941, and it is preserved as a national cemetery. The USS Arizona Memorial is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Hawaii.

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Pearl Harbor attack , (December 7, 1941), surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island , Hawaii , by the Japanese that precipitated the entry of the United States into World War II . The strike climaxed a decade of worsening relations between the United States and Japan .

In the late 1930s, American foreign policy in the Pacific hinged on support for China , and aggression against China by Japan therefore necessarily would bring Japan into conflict with the United States. As early as 1931 the Tokyo government had extended its control over the Chinese province of Manchuria , and the following year the Japanese cemented their hold on the region with the creation of the puppet state of Manchukuo . A clash at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing on July 7, 1937, signaled the beginning of open warfare between Japan and the United Front of Chinese Nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party . In response, the United States government extended its first loan to China in 1938.

In July 1939 the U.S. announced the termination of the 1911 Treaty of Commerce and Navigation with Japan. Beginning in the summer of 1940, the U.S. began to restrict the export to Japan of materials useful in war. Between June 1940 and the fateful crisis of December 1941, the tension constantly mounted. In July 1941, by which time the Japanese had occupied all of Indochina and had entered into an alliance with the Axis powers ( Germany and Italy ), the U.S. government severed all commercial and financial relations with Japan. Japanese assets were frozen, and an embargo was declared on shipments to Japan of petroleum and other vital war materials. Militarists were steadily gaining in influence in the Tokyo government; they bitterly resented U.S. aid to China, which by this time had been stepped up. They saw in the German invasion of the Soviet Union an unrivaled opportunity to pursue a policy of aggression in the Far East without danger of an attack upon their rear by the forces of the Red Army . Nonetheless, negotiations looking to find some kind of understanding between the United States and Japan took place through the autumn of 1941, and not until near the end of November did it become clear that no agreement was possible.

Although Japan continued to negotiate with the United States up to the day of the Pearl Harbor attack, the government of Prime Minister Tōjō Hideki decided on war. Adm. Yamamoto Isoroku , the commander in chief of Japan’s Combined Fleet, had planned the attack against the U.S. Pacific Fleet with great care. Once the U.S. fleet was out of action, the way for the unhindered Japanese conquest of all of Southeast Asia and the Indonesian archipelago would be open. The order for the assault was issued on November 5, 1941, and on November 16 the task force began its rendezvous in the Kuril Islands . Commanders were instructed that the fleet might be recalled, however, in case of a favourable outcome of the negotiations in Washington, D.C. On November 26, Vice Adm. Nagumo Chuichi led a fleet including 6 aircraft carriers , 2 battleships , 3 cruisers , and 11 destroyers to a point some 275 miles (440 km) north of Hawaii . From there about 360 planes in total were launched.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet had been stationed at Pearl Harbor since April 1940. In addition to nearly 100 naval vessels, including 8 battleships, there were substantial military and air forces. As the tension mounted, Adm. Husband E. Kimmel and Lieut. Gen. Walter C. Short , who shared command at Pearl Harbor, were warned of the possibility of war, specifically on October 16 and again on November 24 and 27. The notice of November 27, to Kimmel, began, “This dispatch is to be considered a war warning,” went on to say that “negotiations have ceased,” and directed the admiral to “execute an appropriate defensive deployment.” Kimmel also was ordered to “undertake such reconnaissance and other measures as you deem necessary.” The communication of the same day to Short declared that “hostile action is possible at any moment” and, like its naval counterpart, urged “measures of reconnaissance.”

In response to these warnings, the measures taken by the army and navy commanders were, as the event proved, far from adequate. Short ordered an alert against sabotage and concentrated most of his fighter planes at the base on Wheeler Field in an effort to prevent damage to them. He also gave orders to operate five of the mobile radar sets that had been set up in the island from 4:00 am to 7:00 am , considered to be the most dangerous period. (Radar training, however, was in a far-from-advanced stage.)

Kimmel, despite the fact that his intelligence had not been able to locate substantial elements in the Japanese fleet—especially the first-line ships in carrier divisions 1 and 2—did not expand his reconnaissance activities to the northwest, the logical point for an attack. He moored the entire fleet (save that part which was at sea) in the harbour and permitted a part of his personnel to go on shore leave. Neither of these officers suspected that the base at Pearl Harbor would itself be subjected to attack. Nor, for that matter, is there any indication that their superiors in Washington were in any way conscious of the approaching danger. In the 10 days between the war warning of November 27 and the Japanese attack itself, no additional action was taken by Washington.

Early on Sunday morning, December 7, Washington learned that the Japanese ambassadors had been instructed to ask for an interview with the secretary of state at 1:00 pm (7:30 am Pearl Harbor time). This was a clear indication that war was at hand. The message took some time to decode , and it was not in the hands of the chief of naval operations until about 10:30. It was delivered to the War Department between 9:00 and 10:00 am . Gen. George C. Marshall , the U.S. Army chief of staff, was out horseback riding and did not see the dispatch until he arrived at his office about 11:15 am . The chief of naval operations, Adm. Harold Stark, even then did not think that the communication called for any additional instructions to Kimmel. However, Marshall did decide to send a new warning and gave orders to the military command to communicate with the navy. He did not telephone, fearing that his words might be intercepted, and instead sent his dispatch by telegram. There was a mix-up in communication, however, and the warning did not reach Hawaii until after the attack had begun. It is important to note that it had not been filed until noon, only an hour before the Japanese planes moved in on the base.

At Pearl Harbor itself, there were incidents that, properly interpreted, might have given a brief warning. Four hours before the decisive moment, a Japanese submarine was sighted by the minesweeper USS Condor . About two and a half hours later, the commander of the destroyer USS Ward sent a message saying that he “had attacked, fired upon, and dropped depth charges upon submarine operating in defensive sea area” near Pearl Harbor. While Kimmel waited for confirmation of this report, the Japanese opened hostilities. In these same morning hours, U.S. Army Pvt. George Elliott, practicing on the radar set after its normal closing time, noticed a large flight of planes on the screen. When he telephoned his lieutenant, he was told to disregard the observation, as a flight of B-17 bombers from the United States was expected at that time. Once again an opportunity was missed.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Learn about this historic event that caused the United States to enter World War II.

Sunday, December 7, 1941, was supposed to be a day of rest for the military soldiers at Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor naval base on the island of Oahu. But at 7:55 a.m., Japanese fighter planes zoomed in without warning and attacked the United States Pacific fleet, or naval vessels, moored in the harbor. Thousands of lives would be lost that day.

It was, as then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would call it, "a date which will live in infamy."

The sudden attack in Hawaii —at the time a territory of the United States , not a state—might have taken many by surprise, but the Japanese had been planning the operation for months.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief of the Japanese naval forces and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack, didn’t want a fight with America. But much of Europe and Asia, including Japan, were involved in World War II at the time. Yamamoto wanted to take over certain countries in southeastern Asia and use their oil to help fuel Japan’s military vehicles and naval fleet.

But because the U.S. base in Hawaii was relatively close to these countries, the Japanese worried that the United States would send soldiers from Pearl Harbor to defend the nations if they were attacked. By destroying the U.S. military presence in the region, the countries Japan wanted to target would be left vulnerable. So Yamamoto decided to move forward with a surprise attack on the U.S. fleet in Hawaii.

So on November 26, 1941, 31 warships carrying fighter planes and bombers slipped from Japan into the North Pacific. They moved silently until they closed in on the Hawaiian Islands. A small Japanese plane made a loop around the target and radioed back: “Pearl Harbor sleeps.”

At dawn on December 7, 350 planes launched in two waves from Japan’s ships. The bombers dropped bombs on American warships below, while the fighter planes targeted the U.S. aircraft on the ground so they couldn’t fight back.

Following both attacks, 19 U.S. naval vessels were sunk or damaged; 188 aircraft were destroyed. In all, 2,280 servicemen and women were killed, 1,109 were wounded. Sixty-eight civilians—people who are not in the military—also lost their lives. The attack lasted just under two hours.

THE AFTERMATH

Repair crews went to work on the ships. Except for the U.S.S. Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma, every damaged ship returned to sea.

The day after the attack, the United States declared war on Japan, officially entering World War II. In the nearly four years that followed, the U.S. Navy sank all of the Japanese aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers that participated in the Pearl Harbor attack.

The United States and its allies— Britain , France , and Russia , among other countries—eventually won the war, defeating Japan and its allies, Germany and Italy .

Today visitors can tour the Pearl Harbor National Monument, built on the water above the wreckage of the U.S.S. Arizona,  one of the eight battleships attacked and damaged during the fight. From there you can still glimpse at the remains of the sunken ship 40 feet below the water, a memorial to the brave people who fought in this important battle.

TEXT ADAPTED FROM  PEARL HARBOR: A RETURN TO THE DAY OF INFAMY, OIL AND HONOR AT PEARL HARBOR , AND  NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONCISE HISTORY OF THE WORLD: AN ILLUSTRATED TIMELINE

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The Attack on the Pearl Harbor

Causal chain of the events.

The attack on the Pearl Harbor is attributed with the United States involvement in the World War II. The devastating event that lasted for 2 hours is perceived to have created a great loss in terms of the army vessels and soldiers (Davenport 42). The following discussion focuses on the reasons that led to the attack of the Pearl Harbor. In addition, the discussion explains the consequent implications of United States attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

On December 7, 1941, the United States Naval base located in the Pearl Harbor was attacked. Apparently, historians trace the attack on Pearl Harbor to Japan’s involvement in the colonization of Hawaii islands. In addition, the attack was also attributed to the trade barrier imposed on Japan by the United States government in September 1940. In this context, the trade ban denied the Japanese government from acquiring exports of steel, iron, and oil.

Apparently, the trade barrier almost collapsed the Japanese economy. Therefore, a need to reiterate and attack the United States was deemed necessary by the Japanese government. In addition, the Japanese government sought help from the Soviet Union in shielding attacks from both the United States and Britain. Apparently, the Soviet Union was interested in curtailing that the united states dominance in the global affairs.

On June 1941, Japan continued with the attacks on the United States by claiming control over Indochina. However, the move by Japan was opposed by the United States, Britain and Holland. It is believed that Japan attacked the Pearl Harbor to limit the United States from sourcing oil products from Southeast Asia. Apparently, the move was considered a military strategy aimed at crippling the economy of the United States.

Ramifications of the event

The resultant implication of the attack on Pearl Harbor was the intensified war between the United States and Japan in the subsequent years. The signing of the declaration of war against the Japan republic was the first reaction to the attack by President Roosevelt. The impact of the attack was a major factor in influencing the United States revenge mission in the World War II (Darman 19). In fact, the United States military involvement in the Vietnam War was influenced by the attack on Pearl Harbor (Darman 19).

Moreover, the attack led to the United States engagement with the allies in the Pacific and Europe during the World War II. The subsequent military retaliations and heightened security measures by the United States were astonishing in the post-World War II era. A deteriorating diplomatic relationship between the United States and Japan dominated the 20 th century.

The cause of the nuclear attack on Japan by the United States is perceived as a revenge mission. The impact of the nuclear attack was devastating to the Japanese economy. The severity of the United States revenge attacks led to strict nuclear regulations by the United Nations. The loss of lives especially of the United States army soldiers and Japanese citizens is considered a historical tragedy.

Apparently, at least 2400 soldiers died as a result of the Pearl Harbor attack while thousands died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Samuels 17). Apparently, the impact of the Pearl Harbor attacks and nuclear bombs still have a negative ramification for Japan’s public health. In addition, the economy of Japan was affected by freezing of its assets in Indochina.

Works Cited

Darman, Peter. Pearl Harbor. Attack on Pearl Harbor: America Enters World War II . New York: Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2013. Print.

Davenport, C. John . The Attack on Pearl Harbor . New York: Infobase Publishing, n.d. Print.

Samuels, Charlie. Pearl Harbor. The Attack on Pearl Harbor . New York: Gareth Stevens Publishing, 2014. Print.

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• Lennon, J., & Ono, Y. (1969). War is over! (If you want it): Happy Christmas from John & Yoko [Advertisement]. Billboard.
• Neville, R. (2018). John Lennon: The life. Crown Archetype.

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, pearl harbor.

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"Pearl Harbor" is a two-hour movie squeezed into three hours, about how on Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese staged a surprise attack on an American love triangle. Its centerpiece is 40 minutes of redundant special effects, surrounded by a love story of stunning banality. The film has been directed without grace, vision, or originality, and although you may walk out quoting lines of dialog, it will not be because you admire them.

The filmmakers seem to have aimed the film at an audience that may not have heard of Pearl Harbor, or perhaps even of World War Two. This is the Our Weekly Reader version. If you have the slightest knowledge of the events in the film, you will know more than it can tell you. There is no sense of history, strategy or context; according to this movie, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because America cut off its oil supply, and they were down to an 18 month reserve. Would going to war restore the fuel sources? Did they perhaps also have imperialist designs? Movie doesn't say.

So shaky is the film's history that at the end, when Jimmy Doolittle's Tokyo raiders crash-land in China, they're shot at by Japanese patrols with only a murky throwaway explanation about the Sino-Japanese war already underway. I predict some viewers will leave the theater sincerely confused about why there were Japanese in China.

As for the movie's portrait of the Japanese themselves, it is so oblique that Japanese audiences will find little to complain about apart from the fact that they play such a small role in their own raid. There are several scenes where the Japanese high command debates military tactics, but all of their dialog is strictly expository; they state facts but do not emerge with personalities or passions. Only Admiral Yamamoto (Mako) is seen as an individual, and his dialog seems to have been singled out with the hindsight of history. Congratulated on a brilliant raid, he demurs, "A brilliant man would find a way not to fight a war." And later, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant." Do you imagine at any point the Japanese high command engaged in the 1941 Japanese equivalent of exchanging high-fives and shouting "Yes!" while pumping their fists in the air? Not in this movie, where the Japanese seem to have been melancholy even at the time about the regrettable need to play such a negative role in such a positive Hollywood film.

The American side of the story centers on two childhood friends from Tennessee with the standard-issue screenplay names Rafe McCawley ( Ben Affleck ) and Danny Walker ( Josh Hartnett ). They enter the Army Air Corps and both fall in love with the same nurse, Evelyn Johnson ( Kate Beckinsale )--first Rafe falls for her, and then, after he is reported dead, Danny. Their first date is subtitled "Three Months Later" and ends with Danny, having apparently read the subtitle, telling Evelyn, "Don't let it be three months before I see you again, okay?" That gets almost as big a laugh as her line to Rafe, "I'm gonna give Danny my whole heart, but I don't think I'll ever look at another sunset without thinking of you." That kind of bad laugh would have been sidestepped in a more literate screenplay, but our hopes are not high after an early newsreel report that the Germans are bombing "downtown London"--a difficult target, since although there is such a place as "central London," at no time in 2,000 years has London ever had anything described by anybody as a "downtown." There is not a shred of conviction or chemistry in the love triangle, which results after Rafe returns alive to Hawaii shortly before the raid on Pearl Harbor and is angry at Evelyn for falling in love with Danny, inspiring her timeless line, "I didn't even know until the day you turned up alive--and then all this happened." Evelyn is a hero in the aftermath of the raid, performing triage by using her lipstick to separate the wounded who should be treated from those left to die. In a pointless stylistic choice, director Michael Bay and cinematographer John Schwartzman shoot some of the hospital scenes in soft focus, some in sharp focus, some blurred. Why? I understand it's to obscure details deemed too gory for the PG-13 rating. (Why should the carnage at Pearl Harbor be toned down to PG-13 in the first place?) In the newsreel sequences, the movie fades in and out of black and white with almost amusing haste, while the newsreel announcer sounds not like a period voice but like a Top-40 deejay in an echo chamber.

The most involving material in the film comes at the end, when Jimmy Doolittle ( Alec Baldwin ) leads his famous raid on Tokyo, flying Army bombers off the decks of Navy carriers and hoping to crash-land in China.

He and his men were heroes, and their story would make a good movie (and indeed has: "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo"). Another hero in the movie is the African-American cook Dorie Miller (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who because of his race was not allowed to touch a gun in the racist pre-war Navy, but opens fire during the raid, shoots down two planes, and saves the life of his captain. He's shown getting a medal. Nice to see an African-American in the movie, but the almost total absence of Asians in 1941 Hawaii is inexplicable.

As for the raid itself, a little goes a long way. What is the point, really, of more than half an hour of planes bombing ships, of explosions and fireballs, of roars on the soundtrack and bodies flying through the air and people running away from fighters that are strafing them? How can it be entertaining or moving when it's simply about the most appalling slaughter? Why do the filmmakers think we want to see this, unrelieved by intelligence, viewpoint or insight? It was a terrible, terrible day. Three thousand died in all. This is not a movie about them.

It is an unremarkable action movie; Pearl Harbor supplies the subject, but not the inspiration.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Pearl Harbor (2001)

Rated PG-13 For Sustained Intense War Sequences, Images Of Wounded, Brief Sensuality and Some Language

183 minutes

Josh Hartnett as Danny Walker

Ben Affleck as Rafe McCawley

Alec Baldwin as Doolittle

Kate Beckinsale as Evelyn

Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dorie Miller

Jon Voigt as President Roosevelt

Directed by

• Michael Bay
• Randall Wallace

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