Forrest Gump is an absolutely corking film - deserves all its praise.

Rating: 10/10 (18 November 2006)

This movie was easily the best of 1994 - though there wasn't much competition, this film managed to make a hell of a lot of cash and win 6 Oscars - an achievement which no comedy film has done since. This is Tom Hanks's greatest hour - it shows that he is versatile, skilled, and cares very much about his roles. Forrest Gump himself was a nice guy - but not in a nice world, and this earned him a lot of ridicule and humiliation on the way. But it is good to see how he deals with this, and to see life through the eyes of a lesser-intelligent person is something that makes this film truly special.
It is hard to say that Jenny really eludes Forrest - she is always coming back for him, and sent him a load of letters when he was in Vietnam. Their friendship is touching and meaningful - but Forrest doesn't realise that she has wasted her life by taking drugs and partying hard, which shows just how naive he really is. But it is this that makes Forrest Gump itself.
The Vietnam War sequence was pretty intense - though it wasn't a contender for the likes of Saving Private Ryan, it managed to capture the fights pretty well, but mainly the heroism of some men who wanted to save other's lives. I felt very sorry for Forrest when Bubba died, and it tells us that every soldier has ambitions and a planned future, but some of those men will never be able to live those futures.
The film's main premise is integrating Forrest into history - this is the best part of the film. Realistic archive footage has had Forrest placed in it, and it soon makes you wonder whether he was a real person. Things like the phrase "Sh*t happens" and the running phenomenon that swept America in the 80s - was it Forrest who inspired all of these things? Of course, the answer is no, but the screenwriter has done a spiffing job leaving us to ruminate over these things.
This film does contain some absolutely monumental images - such as Forrest breaking off his leg braces and running free. Every character is different - Lt. Dan was my least favourite. When Forrest was trying to be friendly to him, why did he elude him and make him regret his actions? Why did he shout at Forrest for saving his life? It makes you wonder. This film contains some important messages - one of them being that everyone's got a story to tell.
On the whole - Forrest Gump is an absolutely great film. Before you watch it, treat this film like a box of chocolates - because you don't know what you're gonna get. And that is what Forrest Gump tells us about life. Spiffing. 10/10