The Ultimate WWII Blockbuster

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2015)

This is such a Spielberg movie, such a Hollywood blockbuster, such a WWII drama, I can't even. All the cheesy dialogues, the sentimental scenes, the horror of the war, the pathetic American nationalism with the movie beginning and finishing with a take of the American flag, the old war Veteran speaking to the grave, all the possible war tropes (the nice guy who is afraid of killing, the highly moral doctor, the macho Vin Diesel, the Jew fighting against Germans, the rebel who doesn't follow the Captain's orders, and of course the heroic, brave Captain)... I've seen these a million times, though probably never as well put-together as in Saving Private Ryan. So I guess you could say that it is, among its kind, the best; even if I'm not a fan of that kind.
The opening scene is a whole different story, though. The Normandy landing is quite masterly filmed, and it probably ranks among the best opening scenes ever (can't really think of any other opening scene as memorable). It's cruel, bloody, and impressive.
The ending, on the other hand, really put me down. Everything was so cliché, and what's up with the Allied troops ending thanks to the last-minute, never-mentioned help of the Air force? Script writers, take note: NEVER let the plot be solved by an element that you never mentioned to the public. Nothing creaks the illusion of reality as much.