Good, but not without faults.

Rating: 7/10 (13 October 2004)

This is, of course, a popular film. I happen to own this DVD, but at the same time there are only a few scenes that stick out as spectacular in the genre of war films. The few well done battle scenes were the reason I bought this, but some of the glaring faults are what would lead me to give this film a 7 out of 10, rather than 10 out of 10 as productions like Black Hawk Down and even Band of Brothers deserve.
First, one of the most obvious problems with the film starts right in the opening scene. We see all these dirty faced, rugged looking men on their way into what is certainly the scariest moment of their lives. Then suddenly we see baby-face Tom Hanks with his smooth skin clean shaven and groomed like the son of a politician. It creates a contrast right there in the opening scene that is disruptive to the mood and becomes disruptive later on in the film as well. Don't get me wrong. Tom Hanks is a great actor, but he looked 100 times more rugged in Castaway as he did in this film.
Secondly, was Vin Diesel. OK, so people like him. Don't get me wrong here either. I'm not going to claim that he lacks intelligence outside of his films, although I know he did drop out of college but that's not relevant. However, in his films it seems like he always plays characters who don't display an IQ higher than 70. I'm not so sure this is how the characters were written as much as it is how he plays the roles. His acting is unnatural, stiff, forced, and lacks realism. He just comes off idiotic in all of his movies. He became known in the film world for a film he wrote and directed, I believe. Maybe he should try his hand at that instead of trying to be the next Arnold Swartzenegger, because he's not buff enough and he's too awkward as an actor to play that role.
Third, as I said before, the film has some great battle scenes, which is why I bought the DVD, but we have these moments that would best be described as superficial moments in the film. For example, these moments that seem like they are in place only to demonstrate Tom Hanks witticism, or moments that make the Nazi soldiers like idiots. Those scenes seemed unrealistic and annoying. Contrast this with Band of Brothers and you'll see what I mean. It's a serious film. Not a film that requires moments of dry humor. Spielberg dropped the ball on those aspects of the film.
Good film, but as a war film, not nearly as good as Band of Brothers, Platoon, or Black Hawk Down.