Engrossing, immersive war drama

Rating: 8/10 (21 July 2017)

May/June 1940. 400,000 British soldiers are holed up in the French port town of Dunkirk. The only way out is via sea, and the Germans have air superiority, bombing the British soldiers and ships without much opposition. The situation looks dire and, in desperation, Britain sends civilian boats to try to evacuate the beleaguered forces. This is that story, seen through the eyes of a soldier amongst those trapped forces, two RAF fighter pilots and a group of civilians on their boat, part of the evacuation fleet.
Engrossing, immersive war drama. Hooks you from the word go and keeps you hanging on to the very end. Great action scenes with stunning visual and sound effects - very realistic. The sound of the Stukas diving is chilling.
Quite a departure for director Christopher Nolan. Clever fictional dramas (eg Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Interstellar) tend to be his forte and an historical war drama seems, on paper, too constraining for his imagination. Yet, he pulls it off with aplomb, and uses his talent for mind-games in doing so. The three separate stories operating at different times and eventually syncing provides the alternative to what would otherwise have been a linear, less interesting story.
Not perfect though, and certainly not in the same league as the masterpieces among war movies - eg Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Full Metal Jacket, Cross of Iron, Das Boot, Platoon, The Deer Hunter.
Some plot developments and actions seem implausible and dumbed-down for a wider, more ignorant audience, and to simple make for greater drama. Tom Hardy's endless supply of ammunition (and 5 kills, including one while gliding) was a touch laughable. Rifle fire being able to penetrate the metal hull of a ship was interesting too...
Allied with this, the movie is not as gritty as it could have been. Yes, we see death and destruction everywhere, but some things seem straight out of the book of Hollywood war movie clichés.
In addition, the characters aren't that engaging - this is definitely a plot-driven drama, despite focusing on a handful of characters.
Not a masterpiece, but very good nevertheless and certainly worth watching.