A powerful,emotional and uncompromising war epic.

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2011)

The first half an hour of Saving Private Ryan is pure cinematic brilliance. Bullets whoosh past, soldiers search through the blood drenched sea bed for their broken limb, cry for their mums as their guts squeeze out of their stomach. It's scarily realistic, mentally scarring and utterly compelling. Although the rest of the film doesn't reach the dizzy heights the first 20 minutes managed to, it comes damn near close.
Tom Hanks once again shows his charisma, versatility and range,in the role of Capt.Miller assuring us still that he is one of the best a-list actors around. The supporting cast more than match him, the pick of the bunch being Tom Sizemore as a reliable Sergeant.
Spielberg's ambition and emotionally resonant directing makes sure that this film hits all the right footnotes, from unflinching battle scenes to emotional speeches. The only thing that holds this back is the script's nack of sneaking slightly into sentiment, especially in the prologue and the epilogue. But that is just a minor bum note in an ultimately groundbreaking, powerful war movie classic.