Amazing visuals and then some

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2011)

Every casual movie fan knows the notorious first 20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan", and rightfully so. This introduction is just absolutely breath-taking, World War II has never been so close and in your face. However, a thing that's regularly ignored is that the other 120 minutes are really just as good. The characters are all pretty compelling, even Vin Diesel's performance is very convincing. You really manage to get to know all these people throughout the second act and you can sympathize with all of them, which in a way is kind of a bummer when they start dying on us. Screenwriter Robert Rodat puts in a whole bunch of war movie clichés (the inevitable emotional highlight!), but let's be honest, who doesn't love war movie clichés? I wouldn't say this is the definitive World War II movie because there's no such thing, but it does provide some really interesting angles.