a disturbingly real film that can be hard to watch for some people

Rating: 9/10 (15 October 2014)

This film is lauded as one of the greatest films of all time and I do believe this film is fantastic, but I believe that it is not a ten out of ten film for a few reasons that I will explain. This film is based in ww2 and the start of the film is the invasion of Normandy better known as d-day. After the battle a group of 8 soldiers are sent on an important mission to rescue a private who's other brothers have been killed recently. Now tom thanks is now established as one of the best actors ever and it is films like this that is why. His performance as the commander felt real it felt like he knew his duty but he was relatable to us because of the way he acted in certain situations. This man is a superstar and he truly encapsulates everything that this commander has to go through. The supporting cast all also do a really good job, this film is not a character study film but everything the characters go through make you feel for them and empathise with the characters. Now the story is where I actually think this film slightly misses, I do believe it plays up the war part of the story well and also the social issues that are explored should be applauded and are very good. However, towards the middle of this film it just felt like 30-40 mins could have been cut out because nothing relevant to the story happens and it could have been done in a better way. The script is really good with the dialogue feeling natural among war buddies and it also makes you feel like you are in battle with them. The style is great I applaud Spielberg for making this film more realistic with the brutality because that was how war really was. A lot of directors try to pc it but not a top director and it adds to the realistic gritty feeling that this film possesses. This is a heavy film and it can be hard to watch sometimes but it is a fantastic film that truly delivers on its message and does indeed deserve a lot of praise.