Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 370 Ratings

  • Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Hanks
  • Summary: During the WWII D-Day invasion, a squad of soldiers led by Captain John Miller (Hanks) is sent into Normandy to find Private James Ryan (Damon), and return him to his mother in America. She has already lost three other sons in this war.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 34
  2. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. 100
    For those who are willing to brave the movie's shocking and unforgettable images, Saving Private Ryan offers a singular motion picture experience.
  2. 100
    This film embodies ideas. After the immediate experience begins to fade, the implications remain and grow.
  3. 80
    The movie's greatest strength lies in phenomenal performances that reach from the leads right down to the smallest supporting roles.
  4. Nothing that suggests an independent vision, unless you count seeing more limbs blown off than usual.

See all 34 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Negative: 11 out of 122
  1. The film opens with an old man collapsing to his knees under the weight of the guilt of having survived all those years ago. We see it in his tear-filled eyes and hear it in his trembling voice... This scene has the power to move me like virtually no scene in cinema history. The rest of the film is both terrifying and beautiful but it's those quiet moments of raw human emotion that Spielberg captures perfectly and makes Saving Private Ryan one of my top ten all-time favorites. A truly unforgettable experience. Expand
  2. A great movie both in entertainment and in argument.
  3. 6
    I kinda have mixed feelings on this movie. On one hand, it had the most awesome looking war scenes ever on film, and Tom Hanks is just as good as he is in all of his movies. On the other hand, many of the characters were annoying, and the plot was kinda weak. I wouldn't highly recommend it, yet it shouldn't be completely overlooked. Expand
  4. JamesM
    2
    What struck me as odd about Saving Private Ryan was that it was an action movie. It was the equivalent of some Michael Bay blockbuster that just happened to be loosely based on real evens and directed by a pretigious director. I never liked Steven Spielberg, and whenever I did, it was for his more brave efforts such as Close Encounters. The film takes real events and turns them into an excuse for a ridiculous and unrealistic piece of hollywood crap. Don't believe the hype, Saving Private Ryan represents everything that I don't like about the movie industry, and worst of all, it's just plain bad. Expand

See all 122 User Reviews

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