A Different Kind of Movie

Rating: 10/10 (9 September 1998)

By the time you read this, you'll probably know what Saving Private Ryan is all about without even seeing the film. Sure the fighting scenes were realistic and etc... but this is not what drew me to this film. Now, I'm no expert in movies and I haven't seen a lot of old war movies, (The only one I've seen is The Longest Day), but I think this movie stands out among the others because it is real. The characters are real. They don't have incredible luck, beating odds every time. You see grown men crying out for their mothers, screaming out in pain when they're hit... The movie focuses on the characters, the people. It shows the human side of this war. It shows how men devolve into savage creatures who are just trying to survive. It shows that every life taken, is another bit of humanity that is lost. (eg. shooting surrendering prisoners. beating up a POW). The mission they're assigned is probably one of the only good deeds they will accomplish in the war. The little bit of humanity that is left in them compels them accomplish their objective, and helps them redeem their soul. The team dispatched to save Private Ryan, evolves from a group of savages trying to survive to a higher moral level. A level in which they are willing to sacrifice their lives to do something good, something they rarely do.
Now you may disagree with my point of view, I don't really care but whether you agree or not, you have to see Saving Private Ryan. You a least owe it to the veterans to see what they faced when they fought for our freedom.