A Great War Movie and a Worthy Tribute to the American Soldier

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2015)

Three brothers have been killed in the line of duty, all within days of each other. The fourth brother is somewhere in Normandy. Orders come from the highest level to bring him home. Improbable as the scenario may be, this provides the setup for one of the best war movies ever made.
First off, Saving Private Ryan is one of the most realistic portrayals of combat I've ever seen. It pulls no punches when it comes to the sheer brutality of war. The opening assault on Omaha Beach was possibly the bloodiest sequence filmed up to that time, and the subsequent engagements have no shortage of carnage either. But this is no splatterfest; while it doesn't shy away from the blood and gore, it doesn't dwell on them either. The violence is here because that's what war is like, not for shock value.
The same approach is taken with the numerous death scenes. When a member of the team is killed, the movie doesn't just move on and say "Oh well." It makes you feel for the deceased, and for his comrades. Yet it never falls to the level of melodrama. There are no half-baked dying speeches, nothing about how he was supporting six kids who will now be left on the street (and yes, I have seen that line used, although it was in the context of a mining collapse.) Saving Private Ryan also deals with the thoughts and emotions of ordinary men thrust into war. The men of the Second Rangers, battle hardened though they may be, are not career soldiers. They answered the call of duty, but more than anything else, they just want the war to end so they can go home alive. Every time Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) loses a man, he consoles himself that one life was given so that two or three or ten could be saved, that the war is bigger than one man. But this time, the mission is about one man; a man they can't even be sure is still alive. It is a testament to these men's courage and sense of duty that they continue on a dangerous mission that few of them believe in.
As for Captain Miller, he is quite likely Hank's best role since Forrest Gump. He's quiet and reserved- to the point that there's a $300 prize for guessing his hometown- but he knows what he's doing and cares about the men under his command. He is ever the example for the men, never complaining or expressing doubts in front of the men. He praises them when they do well, tells it to them in no uncertain terms when they screw up, and does whatever he has to to keep them focused on their mission, even if deep down he thinks the whole thing is Fubar. And when he's given the choice between returning to headquarters, his objective achieved, or risking everything to make a stand against long odds, he makes the right decision.
And in the end, when the now aged James Ryan stands over the graves of the men who died to save him, it was one of the most moving, uplifting cinematic experiences I've had. Spielberg and Hanks have created not only a gripping war film, but a fitting tribute to the American soldier.