10 Movies With Great Second Halves (But Awful Firsts)

Pearl Harbour was without question Michael Bay's attempt to ape the epic, dramatic blockbuster sweep of James Cameron's Avatar, but without his sure handle on tone and pacing, the overblown war epic was a pure mess.

Clocking in at a debilitating 183 minutes, Pearl Harbour's first half is largely dominated by an exhaustingly sappy one-two punch of cornball backstory and love triangle between characters played by Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, and Josh Hartnett. Let's be honest, nobody remembers their names.

Jam-packed with toe-curlingly embarrassing comedy and over-earnest drama, that first 90 minutes is an assaultive slog to suffer through, but at almost exactly the mid-way point, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour finally kicks off.

What follows is, if nothing else, a technically sublime showcase for Bay's most excessive filmmaking chops: a ludicrously entertaining central set-piece which remains a thrilling experience when viewed today.

Sure, the second half isn't without its melodramatic oversteps as it strains to resolve the aforementioned love triangle - with a death, of course - but it nevertheless sees Bay deliver the unrestrained spectacle audiences were itching to see.