Dunkirk Review

"There are 400,000 men on this beach!"


Dunkirk was directed by the one and only Christopher Nolan and stars the likes of Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, James D'Arcy and Harry Styles. The film focuses on the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk during World War 2.The film not only follows the soldiers stranded at Dunkirk but also the brave civilians who risked their lives to save the British soldiers, the crew in charge of the evacuation process and RAF pilots battling over the English Channel.

The trailers for Dunkirk promised a bleak and intense film filled with hope, grief and intense set pieces, and I can certainly say that the film really delivered on this (it really really does!). One of the most successful aspects of the entire film is just how intense the film is. Normally with films you get a nice build up and with the build up it brings intensity to grab the audience's attention, but with Dunkirk as soon as the film starts you are thrown straight into Dunkirk, and you are hit with a high level of intensity, that stays throughout the duration of the entire film (not many films have actually achieved this!). One aspect of the film that allowed the film to keep its high intensity was the use of the films sound design which is another stand out aspect of the film. The sound design is used extremely cleverly and really captures the feel and the environment of war really well, with loud explosions that shook the audience to gun fire to having old World War 2 planes fly over you. It really created an exciting experience, one in which the audience are kept on the edge of their seats the whole entire time. I also loved how practical this film was in the way in which all the sets used throughout filming this film are real, actual boats and planes such as Spitfires are used and are not just CGI models dumped on the screen, which I really appreciated and added an extra level of realism to the film (enhancing the film for me).

There really was not much that I did not enjoy about this film, but the one thing that I picked up on was the lack of any real character development, whilst I totally understand that this is a film about a specific event in history and not a documentary about certain individuals that were there during the evacuation of Dunkirk, the film from a certain point of view only presented us with two dimensional characters that were only on screen to serve the purpose of enhancing the tragedy of the events that took place at Dunkirk (and not to serve as strong characters for character arcs during the film.). Personally I would have liked more time exploring the characters and certainly some back story elements to allow me as an audience member to care more for the characters and fear for them when they are in dangerous situations (which they often are!) rather just watching random non developed characters trying to survive Dunkirk. Does this detract from the overall film, no not really; the film still shines above most films this year and with its incredible sound design, use of cinematography, level of intensity and piratical effects it really makes for a very strong film with only some really small issues but I am being very picky (I really am!).

Overall I would highly recommend watching this film and it should be a certain watch in cinemas or especially IMAX cinemas for the surround HD sound which will only enhance the film even more, if there is one near you because it truly a film that can't be missed. Once again Christopher Nolan delivers a stunning film that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Verdict: 5 out 5 stars