It might not have been scientifically proven as of yet like the study that explained why Keanu Reeves is so universally popular, but it’s still an accepted and widely embraced fact of life that everybody loves Tom Hanks. He may have been nicknamed America’s Dad, but he’s one of the most beloved stars on the planet, with a string of acclaimed performances and hit movies under his belt dating back almost four decades.
The two-time Academy Award winner is one of those actors who can convince people to watch something based on nothing more than his name, which is becoming a rarer feat than ever in an era where the franchise is king. He might not have a 100% success rate and he’s starred in more than a few misfires, but he can always be relied on to deliver a stellar turn regardless.
One of the 64 year-old’s best efforts has been dominating Netflix for a long time now, with Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan having remained one of the platform’s most-watched titles for a couple of weeks already. That’s an impressive showing for a harrowing war drama that was first released 23 years ago, where it went on to win five Academy Awards from eleven nominations and rake in $482 million at the box office to become the highest-grossing World War II movie ever, a title it held onto for nearly 20 years until Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk came along.
It’s one of the best pics that both Hanks and Spielberg have ever been a part of, with the opening Omaha Beach sequence one of the most incredible realizations of warfare ever put to film, and Saving Private Ryan could yet hang around the Netflix Top 10 for at least a little while longer.
