They Just Don't Get It

Rating: 8/10 (21 July 2003)

On my initial review of this movie, I thought it was spectacular. I withdraw that comment now. Randall Wallace fills this movie with so much politically-correct garbage (compared to Hamburger Hill and Platoon) that I wonder what Mel Gibson was thinking when he signed on to this.
As far as imitating Saving Private Ryan, WWS fails gloriously because it doesn't understand the *horror* of war. Violence in Private Ryan is meant to be unflinching and realistic; here Wallace (and Gibson) flinch a lot. This is obvious in the full-color fighting complete with typical Hollywood setup. There is no sense of reality, only distance. Not even John Woo and Ridley Scott understood the concept in their movies. Thereby, as far as the next generation of war movies is concerned, I approve of Private Ryan far more than any other. Especially this. The use of slow-motion and drowning out the sound for the cliche, gung-ho music was not a bright move and reduced this to an action movie...not a war movie. Coppola and Stone understood the VietNam scenario better than anyone else. Hence, they made better products. While that is in the eye of the watcher, my opinion trumps all since this is my review.
Overall, stick with previous war efforts for a better understanding. This is only for die-hard Gibson fans or those who failed high school American history. 2.5 out of 5 stars.