“I had seen this one once before, and both times I just thought it was absolutely amazing. Im usually turned off by war movies (I kinad liked Jarhead and I _love_ the first half of Full Metal Jacket) but this one is just fantastic. Im also one of many people who wants to call Shennannigans! on the 1999 Academy Awards for giving best picture to Shakespeare In Love instead of Saving Privmate Ryan.
One of the common complaints about it is that its too \m/ gory, but I can’t imagine the film having as much of an impact without it. That opening battle scene is just unbelivable. Normally I get bored during long drawn out epic scenes like that, but this one had me on the edge of my seat, heart pounding in my ears. And also, I think God invented surround sound specifically for this movie. I was actually getting a bit scared and jumpy. I kept looking over at the door to see if someone was there, but it was just the left rear speaker.
Interesting antecdote about my surround sound. When I got it last year, the first movie I used it on was Tropic Thunder. I thought it was the most awesome shit ever. My cat, on the other hand, was totally freaking out over it. She’s gotten used to it by now.
This movie has such a great cast too, and I just got attached to all of the characters. Tom Hanks, Barry Pepper, Ed Burns, Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Matt Damon, and a brief appearance by Nathan Fillion (For the record, Adam Baldwin was in Full Metal Jacket. Something must just draw the Firefly boys to war flicks).
I’d thought I’d just start this one and maybe save the last hour for tomorrow. Didnt figure I’d last thru three hours, but I was just hooked and they flew by. So intense and just so so good.
One last thing. I’ve mentioned before that I like reading IMDB trivia and FAQ after watching something. Here’s a tidbit I grabbed from the trivia page that I found amusing that I would like to share with the class:
All the principal actors underwent several days of grueling army training – except for Matt Damon, who was spared so that the other actors would resent him, and would convey that resentment in their performances.
Genius!”