Review of Dunkirk (2017) by Toysorama . — 20 Jul 2017

Dunkirk is an intense war film that grabs you in the first minute and does not let you go until the end credits roll. I will have to say probably one of the best war films. Christopher Nolan has added his signature style with a non linear storytelling with three story narratives that collides with each other, amazing cinematography work by Hoyte van Hoytema, impressive action sequences that relies on practical stunt work even the cat and mouse aerial combat scene, and music composer Hans Zimmer score was great. Dunkirk literally is one big battle for survival from the beginning moments of hearing the time ticking and seeing Fionn Whitehead running across town with snipers shooting at him to reaching the beach of Dunkirk awaiting with the other soldiers as they are being evacuated. Nolan creates the intensity very well knowing anything can happen at any moment from bombs falling to being shot at. There is no safety for these soldiers that were fighting for survival to get home.

The plot follows 400,000 soldiers that were waiting to be evacuated from Dunkirk. As a couple of ships were coming to take them out of there. The German planes kept attacking them from above. And only a few spitfire pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy) were the only defense against the Germans. The plot was kept fairly simple with no politics getting involved or the backstory to these characters. It starts with bullets flying and these soldiers trying to survive. Nolan did not try to add any character development since it was focused on the entire war experience. We could already sympathize on these people because they were young soldiers who are desperate for survival.

The action sequences are throughout the movie. It starts with it and builds the suspense and momentum. Nolan is best at trying to make you feel anxious along with these characters. Hans Zimmer score had to be playing throughout and really helped with the suspense building. The sound editing and design was impressive from every bullet sound to explosions to the fighter planes roaring across the screen. Every scene of the movie was engaging and difficult to take your eyes away from it. The aerial combat sequence throughout was the best combat fighting ever done in a movie. It puts the audience in the cockpit with the pilot or seeing it through pov on the plane. It was a wild ride seeing this. There were also some claustrophobic moments as the soldiers are in a ship in the cafeteria and an explosion out of nowhere floods the boat. It can be scary to see what these guys went through.

The cast ensemble were bunch of unknown actors but they all did there best like Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, and so much more. Then, there is Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Hardy who all did great. The film does have less talking and a lot of suspenseful action. I feel like every actor had at least ten lines. And it never slows down to catch a breath. Which makes the pacing of the movie spectacular. Being Nolans shortest film since his earlier films. The tone of the movie felt like a ticking time bomb. The non linear plot structure worked so well. The effort has to go to the editor Lee Smith, who structured the film so well as three narrative stories interconnecting. Every scene kept the film running with anxiety and suspense. Overall, Dunkirk is a great war film that I definitely recommend checking out in theatres. There is a lot of action and suspense building to put you on the edge of your seat. The cinematographer, the editing, music score, the cast ensemble, and all the practical effects like the aerial combat and action is amazing.