So, the beginning of Saving Private Ryan consists of an elderly man visiting a tombstone at a cemetary. He looks very sad and kneels down in front of the grave, and then his flashback begins.
The first scene he sees is Omaha Beach in France. The U.S. is unloading boats upon boats of soldiers, and some are so nervous and sea sick that they puke all over the place. In some ships, nearly all of the men were killed before they could even get out of the boat. If they were lucky enough to even make it to shore, they had to dodge bullets and bombs to make it to higher ground. Only a small group of soldiers made it past the beach.
After the invasion, back at the place where they type the letters to the family of those killed in action, the General finds out that three out of four brothers had been killed in battle.. and sends out the word of a new mission to bring home the fourth immediately. The captain that is assigned these orders (Tom Hanks) rounds up a crew and begins searching for Private Ryan. They encounter several meetings with enemies, tension among their own crews, and other various problems. They dig through dog tags of the deceased just to see if Ryan is even alive. Once they get word that he is alive, they find him and tell him the bad news. BUT.. it's the wrong private Ryan. They continue on their journey of asking where to find him.. and then get a lead that he is stationed to babysit a bridge in Vermel.
The captain loses several men on the way to Vermel, and once he and his crew find Ryan, they tell him he HAS to come back because of the men they lost. The private refuses, saying that he will not leave the only brothers he has left. With that in mind, the captain orders his men to stay, because 'SAVING PRIVATE RYAN' might be the only good thing they can do out in this mess. They set up traps in the town and arrange a game plan. Once the German tanks and infantry roll in, the Americans attack. Small in numbers, the Americans begin to witness defeat.
The captain gets shot, and its beginning to look like the Americans are going to have to blow up one of the only remaining bridges left. Then, just as you start to think they're going to lose, the planes roll in and start to bomb the tanks. Private Ryan survives and returns home safely. Then the flashback is over and the old man starts talking again, asking the captain if he thought that the Private had earned the right to be saved by living a good life. He did.
I thought this movie was very good. Not only was it factual, but it also had a good plot. It made me realize how badly it would suck to lose a loved one in battle, let alone two or three or even more! I felt so bad for that mother. Also, in the movie it makes a point on how you're always supposed to take prisoners of war when given the chance, instead of just killing them. But.. when someone that shoots one of your men surrenders, is it right to shoot them then? Because if a man goes to court for manslaughter of another, he will serve a death sentence anyways. Why are there rules for war? We are all humans.. and regardless of the circumstances.. murder is murder. Perhaps if we could all control our emotions to the extent of not needing to attack each other, war would be inevitable. But of course.. we are mankind.. and we are not capable. Thumbs up for Saving Private Ryan.
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