Flawed masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (16 March 2000)

This film when it is good it's very, very good but when it's bad it's horrid. The sentimental scenes- the graveyard bookends, the church scene, the generals office are so cloying in their emotion that they come across as crass. The battle scenes are incredible in their realism and the photography looks amazing in it's documentary feel. Tom Hanks gives an outstanding performance. Again the storyline as mentioned before seems unlikely and is poorly implemented. The whole film feels a tad too long, unlike Schindlers List which whizzes by.