"Except this time the mission is a man."

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2005)

That and "FUBAR: Fucked Up Beyond All Repair" are two great lines from this movie. The writing is both believable and nowhere near approaching any worry of clichés polluting the movie. The direction is superb, probably what started out the usage of hand-held cameras which have now been way overused in movies since then. Steven Spielberg really brought his A-Game to this one. Jeremy Davies as Corporal Upham was good in this movie as he was able to portray cowardice in a war movie, which people rarely do and did it very well. Giovanni Ribisi as T-4 Medic Wade almost stole the show when he talks about how his mother would come home early just to see him and he would pretend to be asleep. This ties in to something later on. Vin Diesel as Private Caparzo seemed very much like a weak-link, only there to get killed. OK performance, but nothing really to write home about. Adam Goldberg as Private Mellish who i've only really seen otherwise in "Friends" as Chandler's roommate Eddie. Didn't really expect he would be all that good but he put in a great performance as the Jewish soldier and when he gets stabbed later on in the movie, heartstrings are pulled. Barry Pepper as Private Jackson has worked with Tom Hanks in both Saving Private Ryan and the magnificent "The Green Mile" and in both of those movies he has held his own against the star Tom Hanks and that is good work. Best when he goes to shoot someone with a rifle and says a couple of prayers. Edward Burns as Private Reiben isn't that bad, he does well and was touted as the Next Big Thing but hasn't fulfilled it yet. Tom Sizemore as Sergeant Horvath is extremely good, definitely became a fan after this movie, both thumbs up. Matt Damon as Private Ryan is the macguffin of the movie and actually has a small part in the movie, less than an hour and becomes just as much a part of this movie as the others. And the star of the movie,Tom Hanks as Captain Miller does a magnificent job leading his men as they attempt to rescue a guy that they know nothing about that is thought of as just another number until Ryan tells Miller about the last night he and his brothers were together and Ryan became another human. That should explain the ending.