Well made, and deals with a questionable concept

Rating: 6/10 (23 December 2012)

The production of this movie is epic. It's hard to believe that it was made on 70 million dollars, but that was 15 years ago.
The story is unusual in that US military goes out of its way to extricate a certain private Ryan from the battle field at any cost because his family has lost 3 brothers to war already. It sends in a squad of infantry men into Normandy to find and save private Ryan.
While the intent is noble, the wisdom doesn't make much sense. If Ryan dies, that's only one man, but the entire squadron is under danger of losing their lives in the attempt.
This movie could have been 30 - 60 minutes shorter, and would have been better focused.
Some of the battle ground scenes are the most realistic ever caught on film.
The movie leaves you feeling somewhat empty because of the foolish nature of the war, and a human drama that at its core doesn't make much sense. Like in lifeguard course we learn that if the rescue is too dangerous, it's OK to abandon rescue because one dead person is better than a two dead people. The military's decision in this movie totally goes against this wisdom.
You be the judge of the outcome.