brilliant film from start to finish

Rating: Null/10 (6 September 2004)

Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeremy Davies star in "Saving Private Ryan," one of the best war films ever made.
Hanks stars as Capt. John Miller, leader of a public relations mission to bring home the last of four brothers: Sean, Peter, Daniel, and James, who fought in the war. What makes this so hard is that three brothers, Sean, Peter, and Daniel are casualties of war and the Ryan mother was to receive all three letters at once.
The opening sequence contains one of the most emotional scenes in the entire film. Only people who have seen the film before will understand the significance and its effect on the rest of the film as well as the viewing audience. I have seen "Saving Private Ryan" many times and I always go back to the opening scene when others ask what scene had the biggest impact on me. It was one of those scenes that you must watch more than once to fully understand it as I did.
Saving Private James Ryan turns out to become something more than what Capt. Miller had bargained for. Tom Sizemore is Miller's loyal right hand man Sgt. Horwath. Sgt. Horwath's loyalty toward his boss makes me smile and the way Sizemore portrays Sgt. Horwath ranks right up with the best actors in the same situation. Wars are one of the worst tragedies of America and to bring it to life with such a realistic view really shocked me.
The way Steven Spielberg brought to life the 20 minute battle sequence at the beginning was an eye-opening view into the real thing. At first, I hated this part since it was long and drawn out; but when I saw it the second time, I understood why it was done. Spielberg wanted brought out emotions and made a statement to the audience that war is devastating and something that should never happen.
Matt Damon was superb as Pvt. James Ryan. He continues to produce box office hits along with Tom Hanks and the legendary director Steven Spielberg. "Saving Private Ryan" is one film to watch over and over.