Why hasn't anyone else made a movie like this?

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2017)

There has never been anything like this made in the history of cinema. War movies can't really depict war because they always feel obligated to tell stories. Nolan threw the whole story thing out the window. It's literally one big action scene that lasts 1 hour and 40 some odd minutes. It's a brilliant idea because it really gives you the essence of war; it's relentless and it simply doesn't stop. Even the great war films like 'Saving Private Ryan' and 'Patton', have quiet moments in between the battles, but not Dunkirk. Quiet is a brief dialog scene where the actors try to figure out how the F to survive the next 10 seconds. Then the filmmakers tear down all the walls and watch as the characters try to survive the next few moments. To say it's intense is an understatement, your eyes are pegged to the screen, your senses are on high alert. You are in the spitfire as it attacks the German plane. You're in the ship as it's torpedoed and floods in real time. You're on the beach as it's bombed and peoples bodies fly into the sky. It's the best 3rd act to a war movie that I've ever seen, only... there aren't a 1st and 2nd act.
So this is where I was SLIGHTLY disappointed. The movie focuses on the "action" and doesn't let the audience soak it in. It also doesn't give you any emotional attachment to the characters or even the situation, you never "feel" for anyone. Thus, it left me not really caring what I saw on screen. Like a video game, it just fed me constant stimulus until it was over, but I felt there could have been some moments to draw the audience into the people, rather then JUST the event as a whole. Even though some people didn't like Interstellar, (Nolan's last movie) I loved it because I could relate to the characters and there was an emotional thread I could cling onto. Even ten minutes of character development spread throughout the movie, would have been really good, but as I sit here writing this, having just seen it, I feel a lack of emotion that was very much present after watching Interstellar.
With that said, what I saw was pretty damn awesome and technically it was so well made, I feel like the bar has been risen 3 levels. This maybe the last "great" war film ever made. We may never see anything like this again because NOBODY will spend the time and effort it takes to get it all in camera, the right way. It worked so well in 70mm, it looked fantastic, it sounded awesome. The music was spot on and honestly slightly unmemorable because the movie moved so fast, it was hard to focus on any single thing. I was very much impressed with everything I saw and frankly, I think everyone should stop what they're doing and see Dunkirk in 70mm IMAX if they can find a theater near them. It's an experience that may never come around again and once it's gone from the theaters, your chance is over. Like so many great movies, this is one to be seen in the theater, the small screen will never do it justice.
Score grade: A Score percentage 95%