A film that leaves you wanting more, but not in the good way

Rating: 7/10 (24 July 2017)

Christopher Nolan's' Dunkirk was a not-your-typical war epic with masterful cinematography,technical display, and score that, to all its best efforts, fell flat. The film was based on true events of the evacuation of 300,000 British soldiers from Dunkirk beach during the height of World War II. The film sets itself apart from other war films, deciding to focus on group survival instead of specific characters, bouncing from different perspectives between ground, sea, and air. Each of these mini plots take place along different time lines, giving away new pieces of information as the story unfolds, and eventually meeting up at the end for the climax of the film. Even with all these elements, it still felt as if things were missing from the story. The absence of a main protagonist made it difficult to connect on an emotional level with the characters. There were great, subtle performances by the characters that were given screen time in excess than 5 minutes, but not enough to truly resonate with the audience. The score, as wonderful as it was, played out with the intense build up of a ticking clock that always seemed to be leading to some grandiose action sequence that never came. It's an unfortunate misstep that leaves you with a feeling of wanting more, not in the sense that you wish it didn't end, but that you were robbed of the few pieces of a puzzle that would have led to an exceptional film.