Saving Private Ryan is a war film by acclaimed director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, ET and Indiana Jones) which won him the Oscar for best director. The movie follows Captain Miller as he and his team of soldiers attempt to bring Private Ryan back to his family as all his other brothers had died in the war.
The movie starts with the Normandy Landings with Captain Miller leading the soldiers into battle, the first 30 minutes of the film which takes place in Normandy are suspenseful, action packed and overall amazing. The scene demonstrates Captain Millers prowess and mentality so that we view him as the hero he is throughout the movie. I believe that this 1 scene conveys the soldiers attitudes about war, as they are more focused on making it back to their families instead of fighting for their country and while it is a thrill ride it also manages to tell the story better than any other way imaginable which is what makes the best scene in the movie but also in my opinion the best scene in war movie history. While the movie substantially (and quite rightly) slows down, we are then introduced to the main plot of the movie, saving Private Ryan. To do this dangerous job (as the army are unsure of where he is) they command Captain Miller and his team of extraordinary soldiers. The movie plays out like a wild goose chase with Ryan seeming fingertips away from them at all times, however after 2 of his soldiers die (including 1 young Vin Diesel) and 1 awkward interaction with a different Private Ryan they eventually find where Ryan and his fellow soldiers were. Captain Miller finds out that Ryan’s group have a massive task of holding 1 of only 2 bridges while having an insanely low amount of soldiers and due to this crisis Ryan doesn’t want to leave his group. Captain Miller and his team are frustrated with his decision as they spent too long trying to find Ryan but eventually due to the unknowing help of one of his soldiers Miller decides to join the soldiers in defending the bridge during the eventual German attack. When the Germans attack they are ambushed by Miller and his team as they do exceptionally well at fighting the odds with the Germans but the odds were too much so an injured Miller blows the bridge to stop the Germans from but sadly dies in the process.
Overall I thought that this movie was exceptional and spectacular at everything it did. From the first scene to the last this movie provided both action and drama perfectly with the fantastic script and great direction it had, I could have asked for nothing more. I give this movie 10/10
Ben's film blog 