Saving Private Ryan Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Saving Private Ryan
Year: 1998
Director: Steven Spielberg
Country: US
Language: English

The late 90's and early 2000's saw a resurgence of World War II fanaticism into Western pop culture. Games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor made an incredible amount of money, garnered a huge following, and are still being made to this day. Films such as Terrence Malick's Thin Red Line and Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan were a huge box office success and swept the Oscars that year. 9/11 and the second gulf war changed the public's perception of war and would make WWII flicks unattractive, but for a brief period of time Nazis were America's favorite enemy.

Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.

The movie's opening scene is considered so shocking that it still talked about to this day. Indeed it is quite graphic; more-so than the majority of real war footage and unlike anything I've seen in any other Hollywood war picture. It successfully demonstrates the chaotic, terrifying nature of the battlefield as Spielberg tries his best not to glorify the act of war. Spielberg's camera makes no sense of the action, because for the average soldier the Normandy landing was a jumbled mess of noise, blood and death. 

Spielberg does a tremendous job showing the distance between those who give the order that Pvt. Ryan be saved, and those who are ordered to do the saving. "This Ryan better be worth it" grumbles one of the men. None of the men, even Capt Miller (Tom Hanks), is sure this Ryan is alive, even if so, there's no certainty that the mission is worth their lives. Saving Private Ryan is quite a suspenseful film, but its attempts at philosophy and reflection come off as shallow due to the sentimental, and often patriotic, tone of the picture. It does have heart, but it lacks a brain, especially when showing attempting to portray any other nationality besides American. 

Overall I think Malick's Thin Red Line is the stronger war film of 1998. Lacking the courage of any real conviction, Saving Private Ryan cannot offer any challenge to its audience. Instead, it panders to that audience with easy answers, impressive effects and a soundtrack that boils the blood of patriots. It's technically well made of course, and the first ten minutes are masterful, but overall I was not impressed. 2.5/5