Review of Dunkirk (2017) by Tal G — 08 Apr 2018

Nolan's most mature movie yet.

I watched it in IMAX, and boy oh boy, this movie used IMAX to the maximum. Every sound was perfect, literally every sound. This might as well have been real battle footage in super HD. The realism of these sounds kept me on edge the entire time, dreading what might happen next. Additionally, the way the music was interwoven with the sounds helped elevate the experience into near perfection.

The soundtrack helped build tension, helped accentuate the action, guided the emotion wherever necessary, and managing to do so without fail. Whatever Nolan and Zimmer wanted you to feel during this movie, you sure felt it.

The actors were all perfectly fitting, each gave an appropriate and respectful performance, nailing the role of real people caught in the mess that was the Dunkirk evacuation. We barely got any backstory on any of the characters, and to me it worked perfectly. True, it was difficult to make yourself care about each individual person you saw die on screen, but that's how it is in a war. There are countless soldiers, each one with his own story and emotions, but you don't get to see that. You have to somehow intrinsically know it and act accordingly. So yes, it is tough to care on such a large scale. I felt like it was a brilliant decision that made for a deeper and more nuanced experience.

The dialog throughout the movie was sparse and on point. No more or less needed in the situations this movie presented. Worked really well for me.

The colours, the lighting, the make up, the costumes, the sets, the CGI, the production as a whole, the set-pieces... All of these and more were simply expertly done. This entire project felt like a gigantic success in bringing an idea to life. All the people in charge of creating this movie should be extremely proud of themselves and their amazing achievement. I could write more, but let's leave it at that.

Go experience this movie in IMAX, don't miss the opportunity.