Good but could have been better

Rating: 7/10 (26 July 2017)

Went to see this yesterday, since my uncle was at Dunkirk and there is an apocryphal story about him and a bike which I hoped might just be featured (it wasn't of course). Unfortunately, being the age I am, I will automatically compare this film with the 1958 version, rightly or wrongly. That version of course has character story lines whereas the 2017 version doesn't. I was impressed by Nolan's use of extras rather than cgi, but I have to say that the beach looks more crowded and chaotic in the earlier film which of course would also be using extras. It has been mentioned ad nauseum that the differing time windows for the three parts of the story cause confusion and this has to be admitted. I lost count of the number of aircraft shot down, only to realise belatedly, I was watching the same scene in a different time slot. Regarding the aircraft, again commendable that Nolan used real planes, and everybody loves to see a Spitfire in the air but, we needed more of them. Couldn't he have pinched some footage from the Battle of Britain, or even resorted to the dreaded cgi? Having said that, Tom Hardy helped us all realise just how difficult it was to get an enemy aircraft in your sights and then how much effort it took to actually shoot it down. However, the explosive sound effects were awesome. When the Stuka bombs hit the beach, I felt the explosions coming towards me rattling the rows of cinema seats. Similarly, the firing of the anti-aircraft gun from the ship made me feel as if I was next to it on deck! I also felt in the initial scenes on The Mole, the soldiers looked too clean and not like they'd just been chased halfway across France but, this was rectified in the end when they were boarding ships looking like scarecrows. Others have mentioned that the Nazis are not mentioned. A shot of a couple of German panzers and troop-carrying lorries advancing down a French country lane would surely have added to the air of menace and desperation. But, in the end, I'll admit to having an enjoyable afternoon watching this film; and my eyes did prickle a bit when the little boats appeared on the horizon. I thought they'd banned smoking in cinemas!