It is not an anti-war movie (nor does it promote war)

Rating: Null/10 (25 October 1998)

This is quite simply the best movie I've ever seen. It does not promote war nor is it an anti-war movie. This is a movie about duty. Everyone must do their duty, even if that duty leads to death, if we are to enjoy the freedom that we have. My friends and I could put ourselves into the movie very easily, as we are the age of the average American soldier in WW2. When the car crawls down Mrs. Ryan's driveway we could all see that car coming to our house. We all wondered how we would react in the situation (God willing we won't ever have to do anything like this) and how we would handle seeing our friends die in front of us. For young men like us, this is an especially potent movie. A week has passed and this movie still makes us think about all the messages the movie conveys. This film makes no excuses and presents a refreshingly gritty, realistic version of war that lacks a lot of the usual Hollywood slickness and cliches. The next day in ROTC we discussed this movie with our NSI, Maj. Aguilar and still could not get over "Saving Private Rayn" . Kudos to Mr. Spielberg and Company, I hope you get the Oscar you deserve for this because God knows they cheated you out of a couple before.