A visual treat that lacks compelling characters and dialogue

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2017)

Dunkirk was definitely a great movie but I'd hardly call it my favourite Nolan or even Nolan's best (not in terms of directing but holistically as a standalone film). In fact its not even my top three war films.
merits: This is a visual film. the imagery is brilliant. the cinematography breathtaking and the score is hauntingly beautiful and in fact complements the visuals to create near Hitchcock level suspense.
disappointment: There isn't even a single strong character except perhaps the pilot. But my point is there is hardly any dialogue in the film to genuinely empathise with the characters. This is a major setback i think. Maybe it was intentional but a war epic is nothing without melancholy dialogue. speeches; soliloquies; dialogue exploring characters' backstories; dialogues expressing fear, resilience, these are essential elements of a good war flick case in point full metal jacket and saving private Ryan. there is hardly any sustained dialogue beyond a few words from every character in this movie. Also the plot is completely event driven rather than driven by storytelling from the perspective of a protagonist. I guess I enjoy character driven plot and maybe the great war films in the past have set the precedent quite well and so I was a bit disappointed.
Regardless, one cannot overlook the visual achievement and I can bet they will bag the sound mixing Oscar at the very least. Still I really wanted a strong protagonist to tell a compelling story that has been a staple of previous Nolan movies.