Film Review - Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk is the new film by Christopher Nolan and tells the true story of the evacuation of Allied Soliders off Dunkirk Beach in the early days of World War 2 but with each hour the enemy closes in time is fast running out to get them home.

This was my most anticipated film of the year by far mainly because of the true story of Dunkirk itself in which ordinary members of the British public heeded the call of their country and to me that was a great and powerful story waiting to be told and Christopher Nolan has proven himself as a big scope filmmaker capable of delivering dark emotional roller coaster films but could he weave that Dark Knight magic once again or faulter as he did with Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.

Happily this is a stunning return to form for Nolan as this is a terrific, sharply focused, exciting and emotional ride of a film even though I saw it on a regular sized screen this film BEGS begs I tell ya to be seen on the largest screen you can find as the visuals here are stunning by Interstellar cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema are beautiful the wind of the bay, the oceans, the dark skies, the clouds above it all looks so real to the viewer so real even that when I was going around the bay of the town I visited to see the film I thought of the visuals of this film.

Meanwhile the sound design and action sequences are also fantastic, bullet shots and plane engines have a real ferocity to them that is rarely heard in action filmmaking but Nolan and his sound team do it in such a way that feels real and intense and several times I felt like I needed to cover my ears and look away as if I was one of those soldiers and also Nolan’s direction is simply outstanding here with a real focus that seems to have been missing from him since the Dark Knight in 2008 and while there are 3 distinct stories here none of them become a tangled mess that’s hard to follow plus his eye for scope never wavers.

But where to end simply the performances and everyone here is terrific to watch Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Fionn Whitehead and Cillian Murphy among others all deliver great work Murphy in particular has a great little side plot and Hardy is always fun to watch even if he is once again wearing a mask and making me think of Bane jokes as he’s flying in his plane shooting down enemy aircraft.

I can’t praise Dunkirk enough for its terrific storytelling, its sharply focused direction, wonderful sound design and action as well as great music and performances this is a film that must be seen more than once and I can’t wait to do so again as it ties with Split as my favorite film of the year so far, 5 out of 5.