Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Saving Private Ryan centres around a squad of American soldiers as they embark in World War Two’s historic D-Day landing before being given a special mission to go deep behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in action. Surrounded by the brutal realities of war, each man under Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) searches for the strength to complete their mission with honour, decency with courage.

Overall Review Score

10 out of 10

Review

From the blood-soaked beaches of Normandy to the ruined buildings, town plazas and explosive-laden bridges of metropolitan France, Saving Private Ryan takes the audience on an emotional 163-minute story of survival. As Private James Ryan’s (Matt Damon) fate hangs in the balance, Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his team must consider their morals, personalities and the legitimacy of their mission to find and extract Private Ryan before it is too late. The film blends emotional scenes with explosive set pieces in a breathtaking fashion that is only matched by the carefully constructed, fast-paced cinematography and the gripping script. Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Tom Sizemore put on a fantastic story and feed off each other to show the human-elements of war and how far people are willing to go to protect their country. They serve as the audience conscience and come across as truly believable. As they encapsulates their characters traits and show pure determination to succeed when everything is going wrong, Vin Diesel puts on such an incredible, subtle performance that you will need to watch the film a couple of times to identify that it is actually him. Overall, Saving Private Ryan is not just a film that captures the mood of the audience and entertains from start to finish, it is a film that constantly surprises and ends in such a raw, emotional manner that you will be left surprised it is not based on a true story. It is ultimately a film that easily sails into anyone’s top 10 list of action dramas and is a film that outlines clearly why Steven Spielberg is one of the best Directors in Hollywood.

Reviewer 1's score & comments:

Score: 10 out of 10

Comments:

Saving Private Ryan is a truly inspiring film from acclaimed director Steven Spielberg. The film features some truly memorable depictions of the D-Day landings and creates some really vivid firefights which are sure to enthral audiences. In addition the stories poignant messages about the dehumanizing effect that war has on people and the fantastic acting displayed by the cast will really immerse audiences into a battlefield that is both dangerous and unpredictable. Saving Private Ryan is a film that will resonate with viewers, not only for its attention to detail and encapsulating storyline but also for its philosophical concepts - in which the men under Captain Miller’s (Tom Hanks) command are risking their life for something they don’t believe in, all in the name of honour and duty.

Reviewer 2's score & comments:

Score: 10 out of 10

Comments:

Saving Private Ryan is a big budget, blockbuster that aims to scope the audience up and dump them into an emotionally-driven story of survival and it does just that. It is a sleek, gritty production that pulls at the heart strings and leaves the audience wondering if and how Private Ryan will get out alive. This film is a must see for all action genre fans, while it departs from history in certain places and has more explosions and carefully constructed firefights then you can shake a stick at, it is a film that will keep audiences engaged and wondering what is going to happen next. Overall, Saving Private Ryan is a ‘feel-good’ film that teaches the lessons of human endurance and makes the audience wonder about the harsh realities of war.

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