What begins well, with Spielberg at the helm, doesn't always end well.

Rating: 4/10 (3 June 1999)

Amid the din produced by those crowing about the authenticity and power of the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan, is it worth it, knowing you cannot match the volume of these shouts, to even peep that what follows is, for more reasons than fingers and toes, a bad movie? Is it worth it to mention that the characters and the script seem to come straight out of a text book of movie cliches? Is it worth it to note how emotionally simple Spielberg thinks his audience when he resorts to a long closing shot of the American flag waving in the wind, and, cannibalizing his own Schindler's List at the end?