Review – Saving Private Ryan

Stephen Spielberg takes a stab at directing a traditional World War II epic with all the heroic death, manly buddy relationships and thick “war is hell” message. But of course with the great Spielberg at the helm, everything is even more so. The heroic death (with a couple of exceptions that hark back to the get-shot-and-die-instantly approach from yesteryear) is graphic, the gore apparently meant to emphasize the tragedy of dying guys begging for their mothers. The buddy stuff is completely out of control. Worst of all, the heavy-handed emphasis on the futility of the mission – to find a soldier whose three brothers were all killed in combat – is so overplayed that it becomes more annoying than insightful. Perhaps some members of the audience need to be clubbed over the head with the message. For the rest of us, this movie supplies somewhat compelling characters, somewhat impressive battle sequences, a handful of amusing moments, a failed Oscar bid from Tom Hanks, and not a lot else. Mildly amusing