Opening with the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion under Cpt. Miller fight ashore to secure a beachhead. Amidst the fighting, two brothers are killed in action. Earlier in New Guinea, a third brother is KIA. Their mother, Mrs. Ryan, is to receive all three of the grave telegrams on the same day. The United States Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, is given an opportunity to alleviate some of her grief when he learns of a fourth brother, Private James Ryan, and decides to send out 8 men (Cpt. Miller and select members from 2nd Rangers) to find him and bring him back home to his mother…
This movie just pulls you right it in. Right at the opening! You get this amazing tense brutal realistically violent battle scene and the lack of music and hand-held camera really elevate this scene. This movie features some of the best battle scenes ever filmed. And, again, I must point out, they’re all super realistic. Another thing I also liked about this movie was the amount of character-building moments to invest you in the characters so when the battle scenes take place, you care about them. This movie also has some of the most saddest death scene ever filmed and this is mostly due to the very good characterisation that I just mention. I can’t praise the battle scenes and the characters enough in this movie.
The violence in this movie is brutally realistic. If you’re not a fan of that, I’d suggest you not watch this movie, but, if you’re not bothered by that then this is a damn good movie that I strongly suggest you see. If you want to see a war movie with fantastic battle scenes and extremely likeable characters, you’re not going to be disappointed. 10/10*
Director: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Robert Rodat
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti
Runtime: 169 minutes
