Film Friday: Saving Private Ryan

Ahh.. Why do I love this movie? Let me count the ways..

For those of you who haven't seen this, where have you been? It came out over 10 years ago. You've had your chance.

Let's start from the beginning. Stephen Spielberg directing and Tom Hanks starring, along with several solid performances by the supporting cast. Tom steals the show, and thankfully, if this movie was about Matt Damon, I think it would have blew.

Going back to what I said about the supporting cast; Tom Sizemore, Adam Goldberg, Giovanni Ribisi and (surprisingly) Vin Diesel all add to the story, and their characters are relate-able if not identifiable in some way to the viewer. It's nice when the main characters are great, but when the supporting cast brings you into the story like these guys did, it makes the experience better.

And the gore.. Oh the gore.. If there is a better opening sequence to open a film than storming the beach of Normandy, I don't wanna see it. That opening kicked ass.

Unfortunately my only complaint is Matt Damon. I normally like him, but in this role he comes off as a bitch. This platoon of men led by Tom Hanks' character, Miller, are sent to pick up Private James Ryan (Damon) whose brothers have all perished in the war. On the way to rescue Ryan, two of Miller's men have fallen. Yet when Miller and his men reach Ryan, Ryan wants to stay. He says that "these are my brothers" (referencing his platoon members) and refuses to leave.

If Ryan hadn't been such a dick and let Miller take him home, Miller wouldn't have died on the bridge because of some dumb fucking German.

Anyway, it's a great film. You should check it out if you haven't seen it, but I'm sure you have. It's really a great story and the visuals are fantastic by today's standards, and this was filmed in the late 90's.

See you tomorrow.