" Hauntingly, Chillingly, Tragically, Irrepressibly, Unforgettably Beautiful 🌺 , Mendes's Love Letter To VALOUR 🌠 Speaks To The SHEER INSANITY & VACUOUSNESS . . . Of War " .

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2020)

A { - m i c r o - } review .
This film is Very Definitely NOT for the faint of heart... Nor ...is it the movie you want to watch if you're in the mood for that { - " TYPICAL " - } , Mindless Fast-paced Hollywood Blockbuster action thriller that we have ALL come to be so familiar with by now. Indeed, it most certainly would not be a stretch to say that Ace director Sam Mendes 🌠 , ( of James Bond acclaim, & so much more ), has certainly taken his time with - Several - of the shots & scenes on this one. They are gritty, raw, & laborious, { And Not Once }, do they ever feel rushed, or forced .
It is no wonder then, that when you add to that mix some of the ( generally dark & brooding ) ...YET... sweeping, intense & atmospheric vistas of a " Brutally " war scarred Europe - Barren, Desolate, Stark, Forlorn & "Unphotoshopped" as they may be - and lavishly beautiful noir style { orange, gold & crimson rich } night shots that appear Entirely in the middle of the picture ; that truly Prolific Veteran Cinematographer Roger Deakins ( ...with a "WHOPPING" 13 Oscar nominations & 1 straight Oscar Win - for 'Blade Runner 2049' - to his name.. ) has just been nominated..... ( Again ). Not to mention the fact that Mendes himself just took the - Top Two - Prizes at this year's Golden Globes, And ..{ Lo & Behold }... has - Also - just been nominated for { Three } of the Top Honours at the 2020 Academy Awards, which, ( at - This - point ), are a mere 3½ weeks in the offing .
The score, written by the - Equally - accomplished Thomas Newman, is simply RIVETING.. with its moments of Crashing, Boisterous & " Sheer, Thunderous " Magnanimity ( as when a full-on armed conflagration is either very, very imminent or actually in progress ) delightfully interspersed with those very " Special, Delicately Haunting melodies that reach into someplace deep within the SOUL ...at just those wonderfully timed moments of "intense, irrepressible feeling". He too, unsurprisingly, was nominated for a Globe - { As Well } - as an Oscar .
The Film Is EXQUISITE 🔥 In Its ' Frightfully - True - To - Life ' Depiction Of The Historically Collossal , War Ravaged { Bleak , Post Apocalyptic & Near " Phantasmagoric " } 1917's Western Front . A Vivacious , Exuberant , " Peace Worshippin' { 🕊❗} " . . . 13 Marks Out Of 10 .