Shocking violence with a heavy dose of Speilberg oversentimentality.

Rating: 4/10 (18 September 1999)

Oh, Hollywood! Wherefore art thy head, Hollywood? Could it be up thy ass?
The American public are suckers for movies with cool special effects and bitchin surround sound. We love Saving Private Ryan for the same reason we love the Fourth of July. When I first saw the movie, however, it was blasting from my larger than life 19 inch Sanyo Television set. It was less than spectacular.
I have to admit the first few minutes were disturbingly real-looking and the buzz is that they are as close a depiction of the events of D-Day as we may ever realize on film. For that, I give the film the weight of my praise. Without it, I would have voted 2 instead of a 4. However, once the nightmarish slaughter was over and the film attempted to transform itself from megabudgeted explosion rally into something resembling a watchable war epic it flounders and flails, pathetically begging to be recognized.
"Look, we've got Tom Hanks and Matt Damon!" it pouts.

As if we didn't already know this, the film tries to tell us war is terrible. As the story progresses, it seems to whine about it.
[Editors note: possible spoilers ahead]
Saving Private Ryan attempts at points to explore the eccentricities of war. Some examples: The guy at the beginning of the movie who is nailed in the head and saved by his helmet takes off the helmet in wonderment and is immediately killed by another shot to the head. The virgin-to-combat interpreter intellectual who begs for the life of the German prisoner citing the "rules of war" is the one who is ultimately responsible for most of their deaths. As a recurring theme, the characters wonder why they sould risk the lives of their squadron to search for a man who is probably dead. To these I say, "Please contrive your metaphors and heavy-handed imagery a little more Mr. Spielberg. Maybe then I wont have to think at ALL during your movies. Maybe you'll attain a level of patronizing that will remove the need for audiences to realize their own feelings. Perhaps have someone stand at the front of the theatre with cue cards displaying the emotion you want the audience to experience in each scene.
The problem with taking Speilberg seriously about anything is of course his sticky-sweeet sentimentality. Think E.T. Think Cocoon. Think the old folks home skit in Twilight Zone: The Movie. The only place it has worked well is Schindler's List when, taking a moment outside himself, Spielberg created a powerful and moving drama. I think this is largely due to Liam Neeson's solid performance.
I guarantee anyone with a developed sense of irony and individuality will after seeing this movie on the small screen take their accolades down a notch and stop praising Speilberg for being someone he isn't: Frank Capra.