If ever there was a gaping opportunity for me to climb onto that high horse Ive been keeping locked up in my bedroom cupboard, its now. Saving Private Ryan is a good film. Thats not something Id ever dispute. But is it a great one? Is it great as in five Oscars (which is what it got) great? Is it great as in watch-this-and-you-wont-recover-for-months great? The answer, I would have to say, is no. Its not.
For one thing, theres absolutely no reason for it to be as long as it is. For another, it overdoses on cheese from as early on as the very first scene. Even the very storyline itself is a bit of an eye-roller. And lets not forget that painfully over-used melodramatic score by John Williams. Oh, and another thing Ted Dansons in it. I mean, seriously TED DANSON??
It kicks off by showing us a bunch of wrinklies, but dont worry its nothing like Cocoon. Before long were whisked back in time to the closing stages of World War II. June 6th 1944, to be exact, where US Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his troops are having a tough time of it on the beach at Omaha. You know the deal gunfire, wailing, blood splattering across the camera lens (another thing I have a gripe with, as it instantly makes you conscious of the fact that theres a camera present and, as its not a documentary, none of this is actually real).
After that first battle comes the important stuff a quest, set by the Government, for Hanks and co. Theyve got to traipse across the countryside risking their lives to look for some bloke called Private Ryan, whose mum is none to happy at already having lost his plethora of brothers to those Nazi swines.
Steven Spielberg gives us what is clearly a painstakingly put-together film, with some impressive set-pieces and a typically masterful performance from his leading man. Clearly its made for an American audience, and therefore the sort of people who dont as a reflex grind their teeth when presented with the image of a billowing stars and stripes. Taken with a bit more cynicism than Spielbergs track record suggests hes capable of comprehending, the film can be seen for what it actually is a good piece of work, but also a slightly cringeworthy one.