"This Ryan better be worth it"

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2014)

"Saving Private Ryan" opens with a 30-minute cinematic tour de force that is without a doubt one of the finest half-hours ever committed to film. This sequence, a soldier's-eye view of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, is brilliant not only in terms of technique but in the depth of viewer reaction it generates. It is certainly the most violent, gory, visceral depiction of war that I have ever witnessed on screen. Spielberg spares the viewer nothing of the horrors of battle, using every tactic at his disposal to convey the chaos and senseless waste that lies at the core of any engagement. We are presented with unforgettable, bloody images of bodies being cut to pieces by bullets, limbs blown off, entrails spilling out, and a variety of other assorted examples of carnage. And, when the tide comes in with the waves breaking on the body-strewn beach, the water is crimson. Those who are at all squeamish will find the opening of "Saving Private Ryan" unbearable.
It's a condemnation of war wrapped in a tale of human courage and sacrifice. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), a hero and survivor of the Omaha Beach battle, is chosen to lead the team of eight men whose goal is, in Miller's words, like finding "a needle in a stack of needles." His hand- picked team includes six men who have served with him throughout the war. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent. These are a cast of characters who are unforgettable, and the film takes the time to flesh them out, and let the audience interact with them in their journey to find Ryan.
"Saving Private Ryan" is a powerful experience. I'm sure a lot of people will weep during it. Spielberg knows how to make audiences weep. This film embodies ideas. After the immediate experience begins to fade, the implications remain and grow.
The film's central question (When is one life more important than another?) is never really answered. For those who are willing to brave the movie's shocking and unforgettable images, "Saving Private Ryan" offers a singular motion picture experience.