Saving Private Ryan (1998)
This is probably only the third or so I see this. Like everyone else, the first half hour is something that sits with you and making it not a movie one wants to rewatch often. This time around, it wasn’t so bad as I knew it was coming and I was curious with how the rest of the film actually was, because that memory has faded more over the years.
The battle scenes are still nothing but extraordinary with the bloody horrors very much front and center. The rescue mission gives room for a balance with scenes of varying tempo and action. There is the usual bonding and camaraderie between soldiers, and all the characters have their defining moments and in some cases emotional tragic death scenes. While Tom Hanks is brilliant at what he does, I do find his “everyman hero” persona somewhat boring. I was thinking of The Thin Red Line as that had better and more interesting characters that delved more into the psychological damages of warfare whereas this does the physical battles better.
Rating: 4