3. Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is another film that got a bad rap right from the start. Michael Bay's name doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in fan boys and critics, but Pearl Harbor was his attempt at moving beyond action fare and serving up a nice piece of melodrama all based around the events of Pearl Harbor. The film couldn't lost the last hour and sometimes felt like a bad rip off of films like Casablanca, but it is an overall pretty strong effort with a strong performance from its cast, including Affleck. The problem was not just Bay's name, but the fact that the film was sold completely wrong. It was sold as a retelling of one of the greatest tragedies in American history. It is not. What the film is, is a classic romantic tale told in the vein of films like the previously mentioned Casablanca. Though it couldn't reach the greatness of such a film, it did manage to be a nice trip back to Old Hollywood. The cast got it, the director got it, critics did not. However, even if you don't appreciate the film's old school nature and classic melodrama, one must give the film credit for its middle hour that captures the horror of Pearl Harbor and the heroics perfectly. The film is worth watching if only for that part alone.