To Put It Short and Sweet -- Go See Dunkirk on the Biggest Screen You Can Find

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 2017)

If you love war movies, Dunkirk is surely one not to be missed. It's quite likely going to be an instant classic in the ranks of Platoon, Saving Private Ryan, and - most recently - Hacksaw Ridge. It will loose something if you try to watch it at home, no matter the quality of your home system. It's one of those films that really needs the big screen -- the bigger the better -- and best sound system you can find.
With that said, the movie does have some flaws. Most of which I will give a pass and write it off as "artistic," and Christopher Nolan has earned that right. As I discuss the flaws, please understand that I really enjoyed the movie and strongly recommend it. Most of it was very well done. If I was to be petty and pick out what I think some others might not like, I would say most movies have a heavier, more distinctive plot. A beginning, introducing and developing the characters and setting up the plot; a middle, setting up the conflict the main characters will spend the movie solving; an end, where the main characters solve the conflict. If you need such a movie, then Dunkirk may not be for you, because the plot was not that clear. This was more like showing the audience an event than telling them a story -- An event that was hard, yet entertaining, to watch.
The movie does have characters and somewhat of a plot, but they are not distinctive nor defined. The characters kind of run together and the plot is a bit unclear. The same scene unfolds slowly from three different points of view. From the view of an infantry group -- who are all basically the same height and build, same haircut and hair color, same uniform and mission. This is why they are difficult to tell apart when they are all running from some sort of peril during their screen time. Another points of view come from characters on a small boat and again in small planes and their characters are more distinctive, but never really developed either, because the plot is not really defined. Everyone just wants to survive and spends the whole movie trying to do so.
And that is the basic plot -- Survival. Everyone is trying to survive this long war scene. The whole movie takes place in, what seems like, one afternoon. But, somehow, that plot works. It was obviously not written or directed to be a typical story in a typical movie. It's the same tense war scene shot from the perspective of three different groups of people, with no single, distinctive, main character, plot or point... And it worked perfectly.
The scenes are shot so beautifully, that when you are with the infantry group, you feel like you were down in the dirt with them and want to dodging bullets. When the perspective would change, you got to see the same scene again, but from the air and the pilots' point of view and it felt like you were sitting in the tiny plane with them. When you watched the same scene from the boat crew's point of view, you could almost feel the boat shaking and the smell the sea salt. The shots are exquisite and details are fully thought out. You can hear the sand falling around your head, the gun chambers rattling the airplane and it seems you can reach below and touch the white caps of the ocean.
The only real flaw for me was the story was not clearly set up. Unless you had prior knowledge of Dunkirk and it's history, you would have to have an explanation. I'll give a short explanation with no movie spoilers: The English went to help the French when Germany invaded during WWII. Germany was too strong and not only pushed the French to the coast, but the English right along with them. The Germans changed their strategy from fighting the French/English by shooting one bullet at a time to coming in from the sea with planes and bombing the troops at the beach, on piers and on boats -- intending to kill many more in one attempt, in hopes that they didn't go back to England and regroup. The movie quickly moves to the beach in the beginning and you or only given a quick blip of how they all really got there. For that, I gave it 9 out of 10. That is not giving away the movie -- There is so much more to this.
The direction is great, the acting was on par and the special effects were seamless. If you are not a war movie fan, this will not change your mind, but Dunkirk will likely be around come awards season, and rightfully so.