If there's one thing we don't get to talk about enough here on our vidya game blog, it's film legend Tom Hanks. The man just has a
presence about him, one that adds an indefinable trait to
anything he breathes on. Luckily, the restraining order he filed against us doesn't extend to the realm of typed-out words on the internet, so when we saw this
Funny or Die (
NSFW) video that combines a bit of
Call of Duty with that gruesome Normandy Invasion scene from
Saving Private Ryan, we just knew we had to post it up.
You can check it out past the break, but be warned: Aside from seeing all that gore, you'll hear the cackles of foul-mouthed Brits. Small price to pay for one of the funniest things you'll see, if you ask us.
[Via
Go Nintendo]
{ Nov 13th 2009 at 8:00PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Shadowbender (Nelson Is Behind You) @ Nov 13th 2009 8:07PM
Tom Hanks is a hero.
Xenuxenu @ Nov 14th 2009 6:22PM
It's too tame; next time they have to show the wonderful work of twelve year old wordsmiths.
Leobebes (BDF: Braid Defence Force) @ Nov 13th 2009 8:07PM
Funny for the first minute, then no...
SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Nov 13th 2009 8:10PM
Began to remind me of those kids who think the airport level in MW2 is 'toattly awsume'.
ThorSkaagi @ Nov 13th 2009 8:50PM
It is.
Xvnine @ Nov 13th 2009 9:01PM
+ For been awesome.
Filthy Assistant @ Nov 13th 2009 9:57PM
The airport level actually is pretty great though.
james @ Nov 14th 2009 5:56PM
i loved the airport level, couldn't bring my self to actually open up at the beginning though. that part was kinda fucked up.
Pobthiti @ Nov 13th 2009 8:08PM
ryan!!!
ripslymemc @ Nov 13th 2009 8:08PM
haha, that was good. Would've been perfect if they had the voices of raging, pre-pubescent boys yelling at each other and just being immature in general.
gunitsbst @ Nov 13th 2009 8:11PM
Reminds me of my good ol' Halo days...Brits, friendly fire, never finishing a bloody game.
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 13th 2009 8:13PM
Eh, not really that funny. Pretty messed up when the guys start cackling when they're being mowed down.
Awetoebawt @ Nov 13th 2009 8:22PM
I really want to say "That's what she said" right now, but I've reached my limit today. Consider it a compliment.
emotaku @ Nov 13th 2009 8:30PM
Yeah, god forbid any kind of entertainment is derived from interactively killing people.
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 13th 2009 8:34PM
God forbid someone not appreciate morons laughing at murder.
Greg K @ Nov 13th 2009 8:46PM
It's okay man, they were actors pretending to die
Electro Poof - ATDF Secret Agent. @ Nov 13th 2009 9:35PM
C'mon Darth its was pretty funny.
John Doe.. @ Nov 13th 2009 11:31PM
Greg. They were actors pretending to die. So you think the people who actually died there were pretending as well?
Personally I think there should be a 9|11 sim on the Wii where you have to use the Wiifit board and run on and off it. If you aren't fast enough going down the stairs you die in the collapse. Fracking funny as hell stuff. They should have it networked so you can race each other down each tower. AHH! Some secretary ahead. Push her down! 500pts! + 1000 bonus trample points!! HIGH SCORE!
My point is people are too damn callous about what happened on D day. Hell all of WW2. Its just a game. Go ahead and tell that to a remaining vet.
David @ Nov 14th 2009 2:09AM
oh noes, it's a slippery slope! how ever did we end up on this slip n' slide of an argument?
careful guys.......if you do anything, you might just do an extreme version of it later on down the road! best advice is to not do anything at all, amirite?
gatotsu911 @ Nov 14th 2009 10:56AM
Why was this downvoted? DW makes an excellent point. I'm pretty sure that's at least partially the point of the video, as well.
grimm @ Nov 13th 2009 8:36PM
Brilliant.
nick @ Nov 13th 2009 8:30PM
Come on we all know mw2 is an interactive Michael bay film. Which is OK because its a video game.
Shimrra @ Nov 13th 2009 8:35PM
Its great
mirilene @ Nov 13th 2009 8:37PM
Who doesnt love Tom Hanks, right?
Hard to imagine that he started off as such a goofball!
Mr French @ Nov 13th 2009 9:04PM
So a video mocking grenade spammers on MW as "f.ags" is totally insensitive but a video mocking and laughing at a serious WW2 movie showing much more realistic death than a video game is A OK according to Joystiq. Right.
andy @ Nov 13th 2009 9:27PM
wtf do you think modern warfare games are like? just more war propaganda, hell it'll only get more realistic with amazing graphics in the future and plastic weapons
pew pew on ya morons
maybe they'll have some baby killing too, i bet the fools will love it
Silicon Siren @ Nov 13th 2009 9:48PM
That wasn't funny at all really, kind of insulting really considering they are british and mocking a brutal American invasion to save their sorry asses.
Bagels (@AlsoBagels) @ Nov 13th 2009 9:53PM
this.
Dustin @ Nov 13th 2009 10:21PM
No, not this. They were assaulting a beach in FRANCE, to liberate the FRENCH, and to conquer Germany. The BRITISH (and the Canadians!) had hellish landings of their own on 6 JUN 44.
So we, Americans, were not saving the British. Besides, they did a pretty damn fine job by themselves for nearly TWO YEARS before we even got into the war.
As far as the video, it was slightly amusing
Josh @ Nov 13th 2009 10:23PM
What? You serious?
Josh @ Nov 13th 2009 10:42PM
@the first two people
Silicon Siren @ Nov 13th 2009 10:52PM
Sir you need to take a history course. The Normandy invasion is what started the US push into WWII. It forced occupying Germany forces to adjust their tactics effectively weaking the assult on British forces (which were among the resistance trying to push the occupying Germans out of France). After the successful Normandy invasion US forces were sent to the UK to help organize their defeated and morally beaten troops organizing massive air raids and beached assults on unsuspecting German forces.
Dustin @ Nov 13th 2009 11:07PM
Sillicon Siren:
I'm afraid you're very mistaken. I hold a Bachelors degree in History actually, so I've had my fair share courses.
I don't want to get too deep, since this is a gaming blog, but some quick points: first, the air war over Germany started prior to the Normandy invasion; second, the invasion was a joint US/UK mission, British regulars were not in France prior to 5 JUN 44; third, US involvement began on 7 DEC 41 against the Japanese (an Axis belligerent) and a declaration of war against Germany was made within a week; fourth, the Germans knew we were coming, but Allied forces were able to trick them into thinking we would land someplace else.
I'd be interested to know where you've picked up your knowledge of the Second World War, as it is widely inaccurate. If you'd like to clarify the real history, I could point you in the right direction or we could discuss this elsewhere, since it is a gaming blog.
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 13th 2009 11:40PM
@Dustin
Where did you get your 'degree' in history? A weekend course?
I've seen the requirements for a history degree, as I passed on it for a PoliSci degree. There aren't that many history classes required.
Siren's description is much more accurate.
John Doe.. @ Nov 13th 2009 11:47PM
And its all a fraking moot point anyways. If someone had bothered to wake Hitler things would have been different. The simple fact of the matter is if the US had sat on their hands for another year or two WW2 would have probably ended very differently. The resources available, the industrial complex that the US had, and the simple fact that it had a freaking ocean between the it and Germany made it a force combined with the allied forces that could not be overpowered by the Germans long term....didn't hurt that Germany was stupid enough to open up a second front with Russia, but that is another matter.
The reality is that Britain would have fallen eventually. It was simply a matter of time. They did not have unlimited resources and it would have eventually caught up to them. Realistically my guess is Britain would have probably sued for peace down the road vs. an unconditional surrender.
No I'm not saying the US came in and won the war. Anyone who does is insane and a fan of revisionist history. I am saying that coming in when we did was the beginning of Germany's downfall.
Travis @ Nov 14th 2009 6:35AM
I have two degrees! But I don't care, either way - that video was some funny shit.
LaughingTarget @ Nov 14th 2009 8:06AM
Assaulting a heavily fortified beach using poorly designed amphibious forces is not an easy task. Sure, the other beaches were "easier", but that doesn't exactly say much, given they were still heavily fortified. The main reason Normandy is the one that gets the most attention is that it was the one that was cocked up the most by the Allies. Basically, the bombing run MISSED its target, leaving Normandy almost fully manned. The diversions and weakening tactics didn't do anything there, making it the worst bloody mess of them all. It also didn't help that the amphibious tanks (quickly slapping pontoons on the side of a Sherman and not testing to see if it would actually float) was the biggest screw up in the entire invasion.
The whole invasion of France was honestly not done well and is a surprise it worked at all. From the botched dropping of British and American airborne forces the night before to men and equipment sinking into the English Channel all the while throwing squishy infantry without any serious sea, air, or armor support against hardened fortresses, it's a miracle it ever worked. It's a testament to the brass balls that those men had to be able to stride through wide open beaches up to machine gun forts and still win.
Filthy Assistant @ Nov 13th 2009 9:49PM
This was already made. It was called Call of Duty 2.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] ATDFs Financier and Batman @ Nov 13th 2009 10:27PM
seriously, what's the point? That was basically SPR the game
emotaku @ Nov 13th 2009 10:01PM
The internet is serious business.
Mr.ESC @ Nov 13th 2009 10:20PM
A lot effort was put into that video but the commentary wasn't that funny.
Now this is how you do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTGrjcgSeAA
Banana Kid @ Nov 13th 2009 10:31PM
On the topic of Tom Hanks: I finally watched Forrest Gump today. That movie's brilliant.
Killimus @ Nov 13th 2009 10:39PM
I'm pretty sure the people who made this video said "Hey, lets put CoD into the D-Day scene of Saving Private Ryan! That would be clever." They didn't make it to be disrespectful.
And besides, the violence in the movie has the same amount of actual violence as a videogame, zero.
zapot8 @ Nov 13th 2009 10:46PM
good lord, that was amazing. Really funny when he lagged.
gaddes @ Nov 13th 2009 11:28PM
A MUCH funnier use of that clip is still....
Saving Private Ryan, Team Fortress 2 style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTGrjcgSeAA
Crix Lee @ Nov 13th 2009 11:44PM
HA. that's my name up there! I'm Twittermates with @flidby, who's the head of Funny or Die UK. this is how they got all the names for the sketch:
http://www.girlgamer.com/zine/article/464/
ChuckBartowski (ATDF Technical Consultant) @ Nov 14th 2009 1:51AM
Genius!
TheKingOfHats @ Nov 14th 2009 6:38AM
I think most people here have missed the point...
It's not mocking the d-day landings, it's mocking everyone who plays games like CoD online and treats the random death and violence as joyful fun.
notnato @ Nov 14th 2009 10:02AM
I'm gonna say this is a miss.
Not because it's insensitive... though it certainly is.
I think where this movie misses the mark is failing to reckon how strong the message in the film was. The clip doesn't really parody the film directly, and so it fails to overwhelm the message. What happens for me, and a lot of other viewers is that the message still shines right through, and we think of real people who did a seriously hard, seriously good thing.
It's some dipsh-t brits who seem to think of the clip as just another memorable violent scene from a movie. Nathan Barley got a job at Funny or Die.
gatotsu911 @ Nov 14th 2009 10:56AM
Not hilarious, but a good illustration of how video games have a long way to go to attain the level of emotional impact of films. It's true. Watching "Saving Private Ryan", these scenes of violence are shocking, intense and upsetting. Playing a game, they're casual fun and the violence becomes gratifying and cheap rather than emotional and disturbing. I think this should be seen as a call to developers to try and create a REAL war game - one that can provoke the same kind of emotional response and attachment from the player as this great film. (Sorry if I overused the word "emotional".)