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"Pearl Harbor" Gets Lukewarm Critical Response in China
Though most everyone's going to see it, the newly opened Hollywood blockbuster "Pearl Harbor" hs received lukewarm appraisal from the Chinese audience, who think it's over-hyped, the plot isn't clear, and the acting is just so-so.
Since the 145-million US dollar film opened in Beijing on August 8, ticket sales have exceeded one million yuan (121 thousand U.S. dollars) per day. But it is estimated that "Pearl Harbor" is unlikely to break the box office record 15 million yuan for "Titanic" in a single Chinese city.
Yin Hong, a professor with Communication Department of Tsinghua University, pointed out that the intertwining plotlines of love and war are not harmoniously combined, and neither aspect is ever presented clearly.
The film's marketing campaign in China was meant to revitalize the stagnant movie market. When it was premiered in Guangzhou, airship and balloons were used as part of the publicity.
Experts think that mass media's pitching of the war scenes and romance in the film are the main factors attracting Chinese. When asked why they chose to see the film, one young couple at the Capital Cinema said, "It's wonderful to see a 40-minute war scene. "
Young people, who are making up the majority of the film's China audience, have said they don't know much about this period in history, and that dims their enjoyment of the film. A young movie-goer said that after seeing the movie, she "understood for the first time why the U.S. dropped the atom bomb on Japan."
But complaints are more common. Shao Mujun, a professor with the Chinese Movie Critic's Association, said "'Pearl Harbor' fails to make the historical background clear to its audience."
One viewer, who asked not to be named, called the film " mediocre, considering American values are overly preached."
Internet chatrooms have been filled with commentary, mostly saying that while the film's visual effects are excellent, the story and performances are disappointing.
Some media further criticized that the computer-enhanced scenes do not look real.
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