Visually stunning but incomplete

Rating: 8/10 (9 November 1999)

Perhaps it is in the nature of war films to be devoid of a sensible plot and realistic script; call me old fashioned, but these are important considerations when reviewing a film. That is not to say that I necessarily consider this to be an inferior war film, but rather that it is not the complete war film. This is a Spielberg film, and it plays to his strengths, with magnificent special effects which bring to bear the inherent nakedness of war. I couldn't help but be, for wont of a better word, shell-shocked. By preserving the film in this form, almost as a documentary, Spielberg would have been onto a winning formula from the cinematic viewpoint (although perhaps not from the bank balance viewpoint). Unfortunately Spielberg did as Spielberg does, putting into place a script and moralising undercurrent, both lacking in any sort of subtlety, which might work well in films like Jaws or ET, but serve only to blunt one's reactions to the raw images of the inhumanity of war.
In sum, I consider this to be a visually astonishing and moving film, but one which is ultimately impaired by the banalities and simplicity of the screenplay.