Complete loss of realism

Rating: 6/10 (25 November 1998)

When I read the first ten comments I was shocked how easily the audience accepts everything it gets served by names like Spielberg. The only positive exception I saw is Mark Welch.
When I saw the first 40 minutes I was really surprised how realistic Spielberg's pictures and the plot were. After they took the beach he produced just another one of those average "let 10 Americans beat the German army" movies.
Why did it have to be a set-up like that: It was not just 200 infantrists + 10 tanks vs 20 GI's (of course none was black!), but the WaffenSS, the German elite troops, which had quite some fighting experience from Russia. It was the same plot than hundreds before. Let the idiots take the main road, we attack from the sides.
What would have happened: - the church tower would have been blown up before any Germans would have entered the town, as snipers are not that new - a small group of German soldiers would have checked the town - ...
So, I probably saw 2 movies on the same day, the best and the worst war movie of the year. It doesn't surprise me, that the good part, was just a visually great set-up of a fixed plot, whereas when Spielberg was writing the story, it turned out to be worst rubbish. If you want to see a good war movie, take Full Metal Jacket, or Platoon.