This would have been the best movie ever....

Rating: 8/10 (9 September 2005)

...if Spielberg had resisted the urge to tack a big set piece on to the last 30 minutes.
Imagine watching the same movie except this time it ends at the point that they catch up with Private Ryan.
Up to that point Spielberg had shown such restraint and subtlety it was disappointing to see it had been thrown away for a silly crowd pleaser. The first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan clearly demonstrates the sheer horror of war as well as the lives that are wasted in a way that no previous movie had even attempted.
The last 30 minutes on the other hand seem to follow the usual approach, glamorising the whole experience with all the usual heroics and bittersweet sentimentality that we have seen in a thousand war movies before.
Still having said that, this is still an excellent movie and is well worth watching.