Very well done, respectful and somber

Rating: 9/10 (12 January 2018)

As have many of us, I've been watching war movies since the '50s.
This is technically, the finest war movie I've seen (save for one tiny little cgi moment, but I'd have to be desperate to pick nits to mention it).
I was mesmerized for most of it. I liked the 'episodic' structure and the seemingly 'scattered' character stories. (Had Cameron done the same thing for "Titanic", it would have been a successful movie).
I had no trouble empathizing with the characters so I don't agree with review charges of coldness from Nolan.
But it is not about the characters. It is about an event. A huge event.
So huge that even after all that, as the film was wrapping up, I thought "Wait...that's it?"
I could have spent another hour hunting with the Spitfires.
I didn't catch on to Nolan's manipulation of time until later in the film.
Best of all, there was no gratuitousness in the presentation of the harrowing events.
Very well done, respectful and somber with an excellent, excellent soundtrack.
I think it's a worthy tribute and I had no complaints near the end, when patriotic pride rears its deserved head.