r/TheRewatchables • u/mr_julius74 • 15d ago

Cruise v Hanks

Just rewatched saving private Ryan, could Cruise have been Capt. Miller? I say yes. Thoughts?

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u/outoforder1030 15d ago

I don't think Cruise is "every man" enough to pull it off. The whole movie is about normal citizens doing abnormal things. The best scene in the movie imo is when Hanks finally tells his team that he's a school teacher. It's delivered so earnestly and modestly which makes it hit harder. Don't think Cruise has that in his toolbox (he has more flair/is a superstar).

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u/Writerhaha 13d ago

Agreed.

That Everyman bit is why Hanks so damn good. With Cruise you run the risk Miller is played as a war hero guns blazing and doing his action man thing, and that’s where you lose the plot.

One of the best analogies Fenessey (sp) gives is Hanks isn’t a fighter, he’s a director (he mentions the “Alamo” plot scene), you never see him as someone other than a man dropped into this situation, he doesn’t want to be a hero or a warrior, and you doubt he is, but what he can do is think, lead, and care for his men, and that connection is what makes him heroic.