War is Unpleasant

Rating: 8/10 (5 August 2005)

The movie has a lot of gratuitous scenes of violence (Don't need Hollywood to show me that war is a violent activity). The movie has a lot of stereotypical characters (Don't need Hollywood to portray soldiers as being foul-mouthed and grimy). The movie has a pretentious story (Don't believe that even the U. S. Army would risk 10 soldiers to locate one, and an enlisted solder at that, in the middle of one of the biggest operations in the history of warfare). But what saves this movie from being a complete dud is Tom Hanks's portrayal of Captain Miller. Hanks's performance is not just wonderful, it is superlative. Captain Miller is a civilian who now finds himself in combat and the conflict between his civilian background and military responsibilities is what this movie is about. Because of this conflict, Captain Miller suffers, emotionally as well as physically. We observe how Captain Miller goes through a process of breaking down as his situation becomes more and more untenable. And when the private in question is found, yet refuses to leave, Captain Miller begins to completely unravel as he realizes that his mission has failed and that the men in his unit who died - under Captain Miller's command - had died in vain. Captain Miller literally becomes a nervous wreck, but nevertheless he fights on, courageous and strong till the ultimate moment arrives marking the end of Captain Miller's life. For Captain Miller is a hero and his character is symbolic of every citizen-soldier who answered the call to duty, and made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.