Mixed feelings

Rating: 6/10 (19 January 2005)

I have mixed feelings about this movie. While it is clearly one of the better WW2-movies to come out the last decades it must still be one of the most overrated films ever.
A small group of soldiers set out to find a paratrooper, private Ryan, who has landed behind enemy lines in Normandy. The reason is that Ryans brothers have all died in the war and now the army will try to bring Ryan home so that at least one son in the family can be brought home to his mother alive.
I said in the beginning of this review that this movie is overrated. And i stand by that comment. This movie has received a rating of over 8 here on IMDb which i think is preposterous. What this movie has that makes it very good (although not great) is the battle scenes. They are simply the best i have ever seen. The adrenaline rush, the shaky close-ups, the gore. Seldom has the complete terror of battle been captured this well. Those scenes are worth a rating of 10. But the rest of the movie? That is where the problems begin. Because the story is rather dull and unbelievable. And the pace is at times very slow. But more than anything the characters disturb me. They act like idiots. I don't know if the soldiers in World War 2 acted this stupid, or if this is some strange addition by director Steven Spielberg.
My point in the end is that this movie contain great elements, but they alone do not make this a great movie. When all is said and done i give this movie a rating of 6, that could have been 8 if the story had been stronger and the characters more believable.