Saving Private Ryan

     Set in the middle of WWII with an unforgettable opening scene of the landing at Normandy, the first five minutes of Saving Private Ryan acts as a spoiler alert for the rest of the movie: it's awesome. The mission of Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his soldiers is simple: rescue Private Ryan (Matt Damon) from the battlefront and return him home safely in order to spare his mother the consecutive loss of her fourth son, Private James Ryan. What proves to not be quite so simple is the journey and trials the soldiers encounter along the way to save Private Ryan, including the loss of a beloved Captain Miller at the very end of the film, proving there is no greater sacrifice than to lay down one's life for a friend.
     Obviously I love this film, the acting, the plot, and the picture is all so well done, you'd hardly believe it was a 90's film. Tom Hanks is probably one of my favorite actors to date (just behind Michael C. Hall and Robin Williams) because he has such a fatherly warmth to every single character he delves into and it is especially present in his role of Captain Miller. I also love the role of Private James Ryan because again it was so well done. Sure this may seem like an easy surface role to play, but in reality Damon said it was one of the hardest roles he has encountered. Why? I read an article on the interwebs somewhere that the entire cast of soldiers were put through a hellish boot-camp prior to filming in order to get into shape and truly experience first-hand the depth of the roles they play, that is all except Damon. Damon was excused from the camp because director Steven Spielberg wanted to set up a sort of animosity between the soldiers and Ryan as they would have in the film itself. Damon struggled because he so badly wanted to be in oain with the men, but had to refrain because the story isn't about him, it is about the men who risked their lives to save his: a symbol for war itself.
     I love this film so much I'm feeling a 4.75 out of 5 Tom Hanks' mustaches.