Defining War Film

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2018)

This review contains spoilers.
Saving Private Ryan is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks plays a ranger captain that leads a squad into enemy territory to rescue a paratrooper whose brothers were killed in action. Saving Private Ryan opens with an aged Ryan that visits a memorial. The story then transitions to the D-Day landings that sets up the arc of the story. Ryan's brothers had all died in the various U.S. Army campaigns in World War 2. The higher ups in the United States army assign a squad to rescue the last sibling, Ryan. The squad embarks into France and behind enemy lines, encountering French civilians, paratroopers, and enemy patrols. Finally the squad reaches Ryan's location and does a last stand.
Saving Private Ryan is a visceral look at World War 2 from the perspective of the United States Army. From the beginning of the movie, the images and sounds pull no punches at portraying the grittiness of war. Saving Private Ryan earns its R rating with the level of gore in the film. Events in the movie are also written well with everything flowing organically. The directing is good at portraying the action scenes, but the drama scenes being great elevate this movie. What separates this movie from others in its genre is its more personal look and portrayal of war. I saw the main theme of sacrifice being used by the movie with the characters commenting and even lamenting their fallen comrades. Is the mission or your country worth sacrificing yourself for?
Saving Private Ryan does have some inadequacies. History fans will notice a lot of inaccuracies which will annoy them. Some scenes seem superfluous and not entirely necessary.
Overall, Saving Private Ryan is a solid movie and helped define a generation of war movies set in World War 2. I would recommend Saving Private Ryan.
Grade: B