Cliched and schmalzy, but nowhere near as bad as Titanic!

Rating: 7/10 (2 June 2001)

The plot's thin and predictable. The history laughable. But the movie is nowhere near as bad as many of the critics have made out. The cinematography is stunning. The central war scenes amazing (not as good as Private Ryan but overall I felt this was a better film!) The acting is nowhere near as bad as some of made out (although it's a shame that the humour of the Affleck character at the start of the movie seems to get dumped for no apparent reason after initial scenes have been set). And the music is so catchy I found myself browsing the local record store straight after the movie for the soundtrack.
I certainly didn't come out of the movie feeling "that was a waste of a tenner". Which is more than can be said for many recent Hollywood releases.