Much better than "Saving Private Ryan"!

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 1998)

With these two movies coming out so close to each other, it's impossible not to compare them. "The Thin Red Line" succeeds where "Saving Private Ryan" failed. How, you ask? Here are the whys:
1) Realism. Although heralded as a fictionalistic account, "The Thin Red Line" is based on truths. This is one of the most realistic war films of the last thirty years, in that what happened in this movie actually happened. Yes, there is dramatization, but that is because people in this generation do not understand war because we have not experienced it. "Saving Private Ryan", which Spielberg claims is true, is only true in some pseudo-illusionist world. There is virtually no truth in SPR, except for the realism seen in the war scenes of the first twenty minutes. The other two hours never happened, but because Hollywood says it is so, for years people who have never taken a WWII history class or spoken to a WWII veteran will believe that SPR is the definitive war movie.
2) Schmaltziness. Although TTRL falls into the same trap that SPR did in hiring big name actors to play their roles, they kept it more realistic. SPR's cast was full of forty-something actors playing roles that should be played by young men in their late teens and early twenties. TTRL did have their older cast of famous actors, but for the most part, they were either late twenties or looked it. While no one could ever buy Travolta, Clooney, Nolte, or Penn as 25, Cusack, Brody, Mihok, and Haas not only look like they're in their 20's, they ARE. TTRL also has actors that were born after the VietNam War, which is a generation that SPR completely ignores, except for Leonardo DiCaprio look-alike Matt Damon.
3) Historical Value. Not only is "The Thin Red Line" completely more realistic than "Saving Private Ryan", it isn't something that took fifty years after the war ended to make. This is a very successful remake of a very hard-hitting war film that was made in 1962, from one man's memoirs about WWII. Malick has succeeded excellently in integrating the novel, the previous movie, and the glamourization needed to create a success with TTRL.
4) Characterization. This movie pulls you right into the war and makes you a participant. The characterization is excellent for its brief looks and sketchiness. Life isn't like a Hollywood movie. You don't learn everything from someone's rising sign to the color of their jockey shorts in a few short glimpses. In war, you don't want to get to know your comrades, because you know that there's a good chance that not all of you will make it, and it will hurt a lot more.
I don't watch war films as a rule because I hate the way Hollywood butchers and glamorizes the war. "The Thin Red Line" not only portrays an incredibly realistic scene of war, but it also shows why war isn't always the answer. Sure, there are some minor mistakes, but they enhance rather than detract from the movie. This movie is easily an 11, and a must-see for anyone who wants to see a REALISTIC portrayal of war. If you like "Saving Private Ryan", avoid this movie. SPR is a fanciful tale of lie and fallacy. "The Thin Red Line" will knock your socks off by the sheer realism and feeling to be found in it.