Can be appreciated without being enjoyed.

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2016)

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic." Joseph Stalin. The most renowned war epic of modern times and perhaps all times exemplifies this quote quite well, though not perfectly. Now, I'm sure that the Normandy invasion sequence was extremely emotional for those who were present for it or who had relatives and friends die in the attack. But for the rest of the audience, I would expect that the following scene that tells of the three Ryan brothers' deaths was more striking. Sometimes I feel bad when I watch movies depicting tragedy like this one, because I don't always feel for the characters' sufferings. I know I'm supposed to, but it just doesn't always happen. I only share this because there are probably people who feel the same way and maybe it will help them make sense of their own lack of sympathy.
That aside, I can see why this is held in such high regard. It has great visual and audio quality in the battle scenes, an all-star ensemble, multiple emotionally charged characters, historical significance, a simple plot, decent character development, and an above average script that is translated proficiently on camera by Spielberg. None of these made watching it a great experience. It certainly didn't top any of my lists and was frankly rather forgettable. But I was still able to appreciate it for what it was. But part of appreciating it is having ties to the war itself, which is something that cannot be gained intentionally.
There could probably have been less minor characters included. Had they been based on real people or generated conflict or been more important to the thru line, I wouldn't say this, but there got to be too many of them. You recognize each one and get to know them a little, but are never thinking about them when they aren't on screen. It's a little disappointing, but probably intentional that Private Ryan gets more character than most of Miller's soldiers in about a third of the amount of screen time.
If you're concerned about it being American patriotic propaganda, I wouldn't watch it if you're going to be trying to pick out propaganda. The vast majority of it is subtle. The characters question their mission but never once question the war as a whole. Private Ryan's aversion to going home is more blatant, as are the voice-over letters to soldier's families. The portrayal of the one German soldier might put some people off. He isn't portrayed as evil, but you could argue that he is made an object of ridicule for the audience.
Don't watch this if you don't like long run times. The scenes are put to good use, but the movie as a whole could easily have been made shorter and retained its quality. I'll let you make your own decision on whether to watch the Normandy invasion, but be warned that it is very gory and uncompromising in its depiction. If you like any of the actors, expect a good performance from them, but don't expect that to make it a great movie for you. There are some slow parts, so don't choose this if you're looking for action. Prospective viewers looking to make a career in making action movies and special effects should definitely watch this, or at least study the D-Day invasion scene and the climax. Overall Rating: 8.3/10.