A Good War Flick, But the Best Parts belong to the First 20 minutes

Rating: 8/10 (2 September 2006)

After the D-Day invasion, Captain Miller (Hanks) an his squad of seven other soldiers go through Normandy to find James Francis Ryan, whose three brothers were killed in action. As the squad searches to find Private Ryan, they asked the inevitable question, why are they risking their lives to save one soldier.
Saving Private Ryan is the best film to react the D-Day landing. It is both horrific and gruesome. It really shows how the landing took place. Unfortunately, the film never gets better than the first 20-25 minutes.
The plot is good and is something I have never seen before in a war film. The characters are also very good, though it seems like Speildberg just threw in every military job there is in this film. The Motley Crue includes a sniper, a medic, a linguist, and many more.
The directing and dialouge is very well done. It just seems like it takes itself a little too seriously at times. It also seems like some scenes drag on a bit to long.
In my opinion, Hanks does a fantastic job, as does everyone else. The only one I thought didn't act as good was Matt Damon as Private Ryan. He has a fairly short role and didn't live up to it.
All in all, it is a great war film with good directing, a good cast and a good premise. Its just too bad that it dragged on a bit to long and took itself too seriously. Other than that, it is a great movie to watch if you need a war fix, just don't expect anything revolutionary in the genre.
8/10