A stunning rehash of the war film.

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2001)

It started well enough, with the protracted horrors of war on screen, there to teach the audience the cost of war. And then Spielberg, as always, played for sentiment and proceeded to created the best, least-challenging, war-patriotism movie on record. It was well acted, made, and stunning to behold. It just offers nothing new...and fails as a lesson about war. Spielberg...sigh...I just can't get excited about the guy. I know what he's going to do...
The Starship Troopers comparison is good, the bugs = Nazis, but the troopers were Nazis too. It isn't that private ryan were evil, but you can see the way propaganda runs its course in media. I remember the audience cheering for the sniper all the way. That doesn't sound like the horror of war stuck with anyone. Patriotism is a good thing, but maturity as an audience involves recognizing our flaws too.
And thats why we have movies about Vietnam.