A trifle disappointing

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2001)

I'm not gonna make a bucket-load of friends with this review, but I'm sorry, Saving Private Ryan left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. (Note:one or two spoilers ahead!)
Firstly, the story is, well, stupid. The American army sends 8 men, under the command of Cpt. Miller (Tom Hanks), to go behind enemy lines is Normandy (just after D-day), to rescue Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), as his mother has already received telegrams informing her that her three eldest sons have been killed. A)It's simplistic; B)The army is not that compassionate. I'm sorry, it wouldn't happen, not then, not now.
It's a shame, as the film has loads of qualities, like most Spielberg movies. There are the battle scenes, which are immensely realistic. The beginning 'beach scene' is like watching a documentary, it seems so real and true to reality. In fact, most of the battle scenes are great, they're all very exciting. This is due to the great camera work: hand-held, and to the effects: the sets are fabulous, the music is absent during battles, for realism, and the scenes are bloody and realistically disturbing. Saving Private Ryan best invokes the chaos of war. Full Metal Jacket evoked war's stupidity, Paths of Glory was about the wastefulness of combat, and Deer Hunter (my favourite war movie) was about it's heartlessness. Bur 'Ryan' creates scenes of madness and chaos, in keeping with the madness of the mission. With the exception of Hanks and Damon, the acting is terrific. Adam Goldberg, Edward Burns, Giovanni Ribisi and Tom Sizemore are great, as is most of the cast.
Yet these qualities are wasted by a lot of drawbacks. I can make my peace with the story, it can be called poetic license, although, the supposingly compassionate American army did send hundreds and thousands of G.I.s to their deaths by making the land on and storm the beaches of Omaha and Utah, which were surrounded by easily-defended but hard-to-attack cliffs, from which the Germans easily massacred the advancing American troops. If they had chosen a duned beach like the English and the Canadians did, the casualties would have half those suffered. But I digress. What I don't like is the reckless clicheing. There's Upham, a detestable character, seen in about every war or adventure film ever. He's wimpy, feeble, and never uses violence. Oh, and his complacent wetness results in the deaths of several of his squad-members. Yet he's a corporal. Let's face it, he wouldn't have gotten past training. Also, the Germans are pictured to be monsters. They are the enemy, only there to be killed or to kill, and they are always more treacherous than the good old trusty G.I.s, who all have hearts of gold, even the aggressive Rieben (Burns), who is another cliche character, by the way. I mean, just look at the German they release, who comes back and cold-bloodedly kills a couple of our goodies, and is made instantly hateable. While watching it, my mum cried 'Kill that b*st*rd German!' I rest my case. Finally, the ending is awfully twee. The death at the end reminds me of every sappy film on earth: the tears, the whispering voice, the brave face, the honorable death. My God, it's like E.T.! I admit it, I laughed! Radio Flyer is less Sappy! As I said, I don't like Hanks or Damon. Damon is sort of smartass, big-headed yob, just like in Good Will Hunting (why did everyone like that movie?). And Hanks is just being Hanks. He's just reprising his Philadelphia persona, but at least it was original back in 1993. You know, he's all goody two-shoes, all honest and pure, and he's a tad over-weight, I hate to say it. He's almost as twee as in Castaway, which is a dreadful movie. I've only enjoyed watching Tom hanks in two movies: Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. At least in those, his performances were original!
It's a shame that Spielberg leaves realism behind halfway through 'Ryan', and turns to sentimentality and sappiness, because the beginning announces great stuff. A shame. 5/10
Uppers: 1)Great camerawork; 2)Realistic battle scenes; 3)Great sound; 4)Dramatic portrayal of the chaos of war; 5)The supporting cast
Downers: 1)Hanks and Damon are a four letter word rhyming with trap; 2)Riddled with cliches; 3)Upham's character: what a stereotype; 4)What is this, The Dam Busters? Why don't they just run up screaming "Filthy krauts!" and "Dirty Jerry!"? What a manichean portrayal of the Germans! Quite tasteless; 5)The ending is downright trite!
A quick note: It's amazing how, in the U.K. and France at least, Spielberg avoids severe certificates. Jurassic Park easily warranted a 12, it is a PG-13 in the U.S. After all, a man's arm does get ripped off! In Schindler's List, we witness the horrendous mistreatment and murder of Jews, plus several scenes of nudity, yet it remains a 15. And in 'Ryan', people are disembowled and shot to bits in grisly detail, yet it is also only a 15. I agree that we need to be more liberal, but why does Spielberg alone get this special treatment. I see it as a tribute to his talent as a director (apart from Saving Private Ryan and E.T.).