Long have I heard "It's the greatest WWII movie ever!!" said of this film.
Truth be told?
It's ten times worse than that inaccurate piece of garbage Braveheart.
The movie starts out on Omaha beach, June 6 1944, we are introduced to Captain John Miller (played by Tom Hanks), a weak Ranger* who is not understood by his men.
After the chaos of the landing has subsided, he is given the task of finding Pvt. James Ryan (Matt Damon), C Company 101st Airborne 501st PIR , a boy from Nebraska who has lost 3 of his brothers in battle within days of each other.
Most of the movie is dedicated to the quest for Ryan.
Lots of boring emotional dialogue and very little fighting make for a weak story line.
In one of the few firefights in the movie, Capt. Miller decides to take a radar station defended by a handful of Germans.
During this battle Miller loses his Medic, who has put his life on the line several times trying to save comrades during the movie.
The Medic's death scene seems to last forever, made worse by the subsequent scene, wherein they find the German who shot him, alive and trying to escape.
Members of Miller's squad catch the German and are preparing to execute him when Corporal Upham, a technician they have brought along for his linguistic skills, begs and pleads the Capt. to free the prisoner because "he said he was sorry".
Unfortunately, the Capt. does this, telling the Nazi to walk a thousand paces and turn himself in to the next Allied patrol he meets.
The squad then continues on their merry way through France, looking for this Ryan guy and having quite a few emotional conversations.
While hiding from a Half-Track (note: I said "hiding" not "destroying"), they find Pvt. Ryan (whose insignia identifies him as part of the 506th PIR).
After informing him that his brothers have been killed, he decides to stay and help "the closest things to brothers he's got" defend a bridge in a French town that they've occupied.
Thus starts the only real battle scene in the movie, but not before some more needless dialogue.
During the ensuing firefight, Upham is made resupply man for the squad and elements of the 506th.
However, being the sensitive type he chickens out and fails his duties, which causes the slow and painful deaths of the real warriors in the film.
I bet you can't guess which Nazi kills them!
Because the town is being overrun, Capt. Miller orders the survivors to the other side of the bridge, where they hope to make a last stand.
Deciding to blow up the bridge, Miller runs to a detonator, but is stopped when he is shot by a German (POW guy again) on the other side of the river.
Suddenly, amidst Ryan's woman-like screams and Upham's sobbing, we hear the mighty roar of engines from P-51's and Sherman Tanks, who come out of nowhere and save the day.
But wait, there's still more!
We have a emotional speech between Miller and Ryan, then a flashback to the modern day where we hear Ryan's wife say, "You're a good man".
Thus ends the "epic" Saving Private Ryan.
The prevailing message of this story seems to be that warriors are really cowards, but cowards are really warriors (Upham shoots the POW near the end).
Personally I find this disgusting, maybe it's just me, but the movie comes off as an insult to WWII Vets.
This movie takes a group of individuals who fought and died that their children might be free.
But as liberals typically do, they change these courageous men by turning them into stupid, effeminate and emotional animals.
Upham was such a girly-man, yet Spielberg made him the exemplary character, the one you're supposed to want to be like.
Contrast this with the HBO mini-series
Band of Brothers, which has issues of it's own, yet it truly brings honor to "The Greatest Generation".
There certainly were cowards in WWII (like
this guy), but if you're going to spend $90,000,000 portraying these men, at least heap accolades upon a real warrior.
The ranting of Mike Powers is ended...
For now.
*As I live close to the "Home of the Ranger's", I can tell you, there is no such thing as a "Weak Ranger".
