Puts you there on the beach but something doesn't feel quite right

Rating: Null/10 (24 November 2003)

There is no doubt that Spielberg is a superb director of actors and action. The opening section of this film left me breathless and disturbed. The scene with the collapsing wall and the German soldiers with the ensuing Mexican stand off is nail biting. Similarly, the final battle sequence is deftly choreographed. Some fine character scenes linger in the mind, as when the soldiers listen to Edith Piaf while waiting for the Germans. However, if this is war as Hell/absurd/confusing it is also war as boys own adventure. Where are the politics? Historical context? Are we really expected to believe that in a huge theatre of war a group of soldiers would be allowed to wander around in search of one man? Compare Ryan to The Thin Red Line. You want to consider what Malick might have to say about war with his use of rich images that linger in the mind long after the end of the film. With Spielberg I was left largely with the memory of the opening and closing scenes.