Absolutely among the greatest war films ever made, with just a few unforgivable mistakes.

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2000)

As a die-hard Steven Spielberg fan, I find it difficult to give such a tremendously powerful film like Saving Private Ryan anything less than a 10, but there were a couple of things in the film that caused huge problems for me, mainly because they could have been avoided so easily. For example, whose brilliant idea was it to cast a teenage heartthrob like Matt Damon (and yes, I realize that he is not a teen himself, but he is extremely popular among junior high school girls) in the role of a private in a World War II film?! Tom Hanks was perfect, but only because he is one of the best actors working right now, and he can do a great job in virtually any role. Furthermore, Ted Danson literally stops the film in its tracks.

However, Saving Private Ryan, despite these superficial problems, is a truly timeless film, and is an extremely powerful depiction of the brutality of World War II. Besides being hugely entertaining, a lot can be learned from this film. It is a landmark in filmmaking history and should not be missed.