The-Reel-McCoy -- Saving Private Ryan

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	Saving Private Ryan

	Rated: R
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This movie is amazing in very many respects. But the one I'd like to concentrate on first is not really the amazing special effects or the movie's realism, but the script. The script (as well as the attitude of the director) always defines how the movie is going to be perceived. In just about every movie, our judgements and sympathies are influenced a great deal. We seem to wind up with the same views as the writer and/or director. But this movie breaks that sometimes mindless trend and dares to trust that we have minds of our own as it allows us to form our own opinions. Our perception of this movie, in the end, says something about ourselves. This, in my opinion, is what makes this movie truly remarkable.

Add to that some great acting, an intense musical score, and some of the greatest special effects and cinematography yet brought to the big screen and you have more than you could ask for. Tom Hanks provides the audience with a familiar face to follow throughout the movie. However, the movie does not concentrate on any one person, but is rather just kind of a story about a mission. Also providing a great performance was Matt Damon as Private James Ryan who never can understand why his life is suddenly deemed more important than his comrades. I also felt that the timid Jeremy Davies as Corporal Upham helped give the movie its true realism. His fear was felt throughout the theater.

The special effects in this movie are amazing. The movie is not just a movie but an experience. The cinematography is groundbreaking. The opening scene follows Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) as he leads his troops on Omaha Beach in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. From the water to the beach to the eventual hard-fought capture of the fort, the sights and sounds of this battle are as realistic as you can get. Simply amazing. Horrifying.