A good film that could have been a great one

Rating: 7/10 (15 December 2019)

Saw this film at tiff's secret movie club which was also the film's north American premier. This is a well made war film with technical aspects being really stand out. It is a towering achievement for cinematography, the sound work is top notch, the depiction of front lines, trenches, the mud filled with rotten corpses was incredibly powerful and Sam Mendes did a masterful directing here.
However I've had some issues that I think really hurt the film and leave a bad taste:
1. There are a few scenes here that probably belong to James Bond flicks than a realistic world war film. I won't spoil anything but I wonder how Mr Mendes would have made this before Skyfall.
2. Again there are some events that are highly dramatized and some of them feel just dumb/unrealistic. I don't know how much control did Mendes have on this production but I was really annoyed at certain times.
Overall I think this is a worth-watching, expertly made war film that would've been a great one but it's still enjoyable.