One of the best, and a must-see on IMAX

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2017)

This is one of the best war movies ever, and this is coming from a huge fan of the classics going back to The Dam Busters (1955), 633 Squadron (1964), and Battle of Britain (1969). And by saying that I don't mean to celebrate violence, or revel in "our team" winning. After all, this is Dunkirk. It is, like Waterloo, the definition of defeat.
Sure, there is plenty of violence, but no one in this movie is smiling vindictively as he pulls the trigger. The troops cheer, but it is for their own team. Their team is losing, and with 20/20 hindsight, you know what is at stake: crippling injuries, death, or years behind a barbed-wire fence. With every glimmer of hope, you can't help but cheer along.
Unlike the old classics, there are no heroes who "save the day" in every scene. There are no Trevor Howards, Michael Redgraves, or Cliff Robertson's to take names and kick butts. Sure, there is star power in Kenneth Branagh as the Navy Commander, and James D'Arcy as the Army Colonel. There is Mark Rylance, who owns one of the many "little ships of Dunkirk." But in every other respect, this is about the individual survivor. Everyone - from lowly private, to nurse, to downed fighter pilot - just wants to get home.
Even the old classics would be hard pressed to compete with the realism of Dunkirk. How many of those Spitfires were CGI and how many were real? It was hard to tell, even on the big screen. I found myself pulling almost as much for the beautiful (and now rare) machines as I did for the men who flew them. The experience is immersive and compelling, although the special effects never get in the way.
The clever time-line is, perhaps, the only obvious concession to modern movie making. Actually, there are three time-lines. Helpfully, we are told at the beginning what they will be. As those time-lines intersect, we get to watch pivotal scenes from multiple perspectives. It's not hard to follow.
I got to see this on the only IMAX screen in New Zealand. It was a privilege. Shot in 70mm film, the detail is amazing. The IMAX format is closer to the old 4:3 aspect ratio, but you get see everything at once, from expansive beaches to rolling waves to foreboding skies. I'm sure the movie will be fine on regular movie screens, but the experience will be different. In the end, this movie is all about the experience.