A Moving and Riveting Film

Rating: 6/10 (27 September 2008)

"Saving Private Ryan" is a movie that is truly epic in scale and stars a huge array of big names, some of whom became even bigger after the film, (eg. Vin Diesel). The film opens with the harrowing D-Day landings, following Captain Miller and his men. The unit is given the mission of finding and getting Private James Ryan out of the war. His 3 brothers have all been killed and it has been decided that 3 or 4 sons is enough sacrifice for one mother to make. A lot of the depth of the movie comes with the relationships between Miller and those around him. There are some truly light hearted moments, such as the pool that is running to find out what Miller did before the war. However, a lot is very deep and touches on some issues that other movies seem to gloss over. One is a conversation in which Miller mentions that over 90 men have died under his command and the way in which he copes with that personally. The movie does not glorify war, but shows it in its hideous randomness and brutality. Though there a more violent films out there, such as We Were Soldiers (Widescreen Edition), "Saving Private Ryan" definitely does not gloss over anything. This is a profoundly moving movie, and one that I have seen more than once. Every viewing is moving. It is simply a great story, well-acted, well-directed and engrossing.