I only have a few things to say about this famous, mostly great war movie

Rating: 8/10 (3 April 2020)

I'll keep this review brief because Saving Private Ryan has been discussed to near death, and there's little new or interesting one can say about it. It's over 20 years old, and for as long as I can remember, it's always been held up as one of the greatest war movies of all time. The first time I watched it, back in about 2011, I wasn't super enthusiastic about it. I thought it was excellently made, but overlong, a little sappy as far as the ending was concerned, and bothered by it seeming to show both the horrors of war and the heroics.
With that last point, I still feel it does this to some extent. Most of the time, it makes war look pretty horrible, most famously in that opening sequence (as a note: the rest of the film suffers a bit in general coming after that scene. And as great as it is, it doesn't have a huge impact on the rest of the story; we get an introduction to some characters, and a sense of Hanks' character being a good leader, but such things could technically be conveyed in a more succinct manner, so the scene does feel a little tacked on to the rest of the film. Still, what a scene though). But then the other big action sequence near the film's climax is kind of too entertaining. There are moments of grit and horror within it, but not as frequently as the opening sequence. It's not as disorientating or stomach-churning. War doesn't look fun exactly, but now war looks heroic.
I can't say for sure, but sticking to one side of this might have been better for the film as a whole, rather than sitting on the fence and saying war can be heroic while also being horrifying. Maybe it's that the connection to the characters is somewhat lacking, because while I did mostly want them to succeed, I wasn't hugely attached to them in an emotional way. I prefer Gallipoli and the recent 1917 because I cared for the characters more. I respected them as individuals put into a horrible situation, while also getting the sense that the films they were in were putting forth a strong anti-war sentiment.
Saving Private Ryan is anti-war, but not in as strong a manner as it could be. The second large battle scene should be as horrifying as the first battle scene to argue this in a stronger way, or otherwise, action should be avoided (look at the infamous Come And See for a go-to example of how to do an absolutely terrifying war film). But those critiques aside, there's little else to fault here, particularly on a technical front. Spielberg does an incredible job directing, and the cast is overall solid. The music was a little disappointing I guess, considering it's John Williams, but then again, the lack of music does help make that opening scene all the more effective.
It's a mostly great film, and I liked it a lot more on my recent rewatch, compared to 2011. There are still a few little things here and there that bothered me, and kept me from counting this among my favourite war films. But there is also so much that's done well that I can't help but be in awe of most of what ended up on screen.