Review of Saving Private Ryan (1998) by Alec B — 30 Sep 2016

Yes the D-Day sequence is a technical marvel but it's important to remember that it occupies a very brief period of time in a nearly three hour movie. Also, while there may have been an attempt to insert an "anti-war" message into the plot, it gets muddled by several sequences that clearly contradict that intent and others that almost revel in extreme violence.

Despite all of this there are scenes and moments that are undeniably compelling and Hanks gives one of his better performances here, I just can't accept the movie as a masterpiece.