Not Nolans best but still epic!

Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2020)

This movie needs to be watched at least twice.
The first time I watched it I went in with expectations high knowing it was another Nolan creation with him being my favourite director. He couldn't seem to put a foot wrong. But you do yourself a bit of a disservice if you go in to Dunkirk expecting to see something like Interstellar, Inception or The Prestige. If you do this movie can be easily misunderstood as slow, boring, no action. However it is definitely not. It all depends on your expectations coming into it.
This is also Nolans first movie based on a historical event. Which means it is very much a stand alone work from his previous. But like all great Nolan films he plays around with time, and in this you see three stories told on three different speeds all converging in one event.
It took me right until the end before I realised this was happening. Hence watching it a second time. Watching it twice gives you the chance to see the little clues and perspectives that start to overlap that can be missed on one viewing.
What's interesting about this movie is the lack of character development despite the movie still remaining very interesting. There is very little background info on who any of these soldiers or civilians are. There is also no antagonist full present in one character. The villain is found in the German army but not in one person
The enemy is faceless and only appears out of the silence in the form of a very quick nose dive or bustling torpedo. Which seems much more accurate with many of the soldiers probably never really meeting their enemy face to face.
Although these characters are fictional, the story is very real and authentic. The beach setting and plane especially.
This movie is awesome and I'm glad I gave it another go.