"Bookends" hurt the overall product.

Rating: 1/10 (17 August 1999)

Cut off the intro and the epilogue bits -- start with the landing craft headed for the beach and end with the scene in the street, and you'd have a pretty good movie. I just resent it when Spielberg pulls out some kind of emotional 2x4 to repeatedly hit me over the head, saying "feel this way," "ok now this way." Lacks subtlety. I feel like I'm being very purposefully yanked around rather than being allowed my own reaction to the words and images.