1917 lives up to the hype!! Roger Deakins smashes it and James Mackay gives an Oscar Worthy performance!

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2020)

This is going to be an in depth heavy spoiler review of Sam Mendes' 1917:
Where do I start, I saw this on opening day in IMAX (I am from the UK, I know it releases on the 24th in the US in IMAX screens) with my Dad. This is one of those movies that you have to see on the biggest screen possible and the best sound system you can find, it really enhances the overall experience.
Let's dive into the actual contents of the movie by talking about the main draw to the movie, the cinematography and one shot feel to it. This does no way feel like a gimmick just to draw crowds in, but an integral part to the story that really made the movie as good as it was, it would not have worked without the extraordinary camerawork from Roger Deakins (guaranteed Oscar) and his team. Some of the shots in this movie are some of the most creative and beautiful I have ever seen in cinema, a couple of examples include the scene with the flares going up at night in the town and the scene where Schofield is running through the fields perpendicular to wave 1 of the attack in order to deliver the message to the commander. Also, the cuts were not obvious and after about 5 minutes I forgot that there were even cuts in the film due to the polished editing and therefore stopped looking for them.
This movie also contains what I believe to be one of the most under-appreciated actors this awards season, that man being James Mackay, right from the beginning he sells the performance as an irrelevant soldier in WW1 who is forced to go on a mission with his friend Blake. You could feel every ounce of fear, regret, and eventually, pain and determination within his character. dean-Charles Chapman, on the other hand, gives a solid performance but sadly doesn't really get enough time during the movie to truly shine and have a standout until his demise, where he is phenomenal. The collection of well known actors in this movie have about 6 minutes of screen time in total so I cannot really comment on them, however Cumberbatch delivered the only line of the movie that made everyone in my screening erupt in laughter.
One last thing I would like to comment on before I go onto my only negative points of the movie is the score. The score fits perfectly with every moment that it is accompanied with and also fits the mood of the characters very well. One very clear example I can think of is when Schofield is running through the ruins of the town and the Germans are chasing after him, the music slowly builds up to the climax of this scene which is when he jumps into the river below. I firmly believe that Thomas Newman has a very high chance of grabbing that Oscar that he deserves, the only person that could come close to him is Hildur who composed Joker's score.
I have two very minor complaints with the movie that I would like to highlight before I give my overall opinion and score. The first of these being that the scene where the plane crashes right where Schofield and Blake are located is a bit farfetched, I understand tat this segment was integral to the plot for obvious reasons but I just feel as if it comes across as a bit of bad luck rather than a genuine risk. My second nick pick is that the scene with the mother and the rescued baby felt shoehorned in just to add another sad moment to the plot, especially because it was never revisited.
My overall verdict is that it is a must see technological marvel that is almost perfect and I would not be surprised to see this sweep awards at the Oscars, including best picture. My final rating is 9.5/10, I expect this to change slightly change after I have let the movie sunk in and after a rewatch, but for now it is easily my number 1 movie of 2019.
P.S, no one in my cinema made a sound apart from the sound of holding back tears. Everyone's jaws looked like they could touch the floor and everyone erupted into applause at the end, easily my best experience at a screening of a movie ever