Cinematic Marvel and a Justice to WW1

Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2020)

This is an exceptional movie and work of art. While some may be critical of the true grusomeness and horror that was the first World War, I feel this movie captured aspects of it without glorifying it. You don't have scenes of soldiers in a trench being blown to pieces from an enemy shell, but you do hear soldiers speaking about it in a nonchalant way, along with the "gallows humour" that developed over the war in the trenches. There is horror all around you, and this movie does well not throwing it in your face but doesn't allow you to ever escape it.
The other criticisms I can see comes from a character development standpoint. You are left not knowing much of the backstory to the main characters or why they behave the way they do. But in the first World War, where you could have 30,000 die in a single day for the British, human life did not have the value we assume it should. It's because of this that I think it is fitting to not delve into backstory and character development, since the recurring theme of the movie shows the constant waste of life and futility in these battles. However, I feel you get tremendous character development just by observing their behaviour, a tremendous accomplishment by the cast, where the viewer can predit their past by the way they behave in the present.
I hope the success of this movie brings along with it more attention to the first World War. It has set the bar high, and has done a great service to future generations seeking to learn more about the history of World War 1.