Good Film but Disappointing at the same time in many ways

Rating: 6/10 (25 July 2017)

Just watched the movie on 70mm film and the image quality was exceptional. For the most part it was an enjoyable and entertaining history film about survival during war. It had some great suspense and thriller elements to it. In fact some of the sequences were very Hitchcockian in nature that they reminded me of Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent. If i had to categorize this movie i would say it's an Action-Thriller that takes place during war.
My first problem was the Sound & Music. Both were too loud, annoying, distracting, and monotonous that several people got up and left. I almost did. It's the same problem that the dark knight rises suffered from. They mixed the sound so high to make the action and explosions appear grand but it fails since the visuals don't work. There's only one director who can direct great action and explosions and make it look grand and epic that i almost believe its a work of art, which in a way it is. That director is none other than Michael "Bad Boys" Bay.
Second problem i had with the movie was too many cuts to secondary characters that i didn't care about. Not to mention i barely cared about any of them since I never got to know them. They should have stuck with just three stories: the pilot, the father and son, and the two soldiers trying to survive. Period. I don't care about the generals, random soldiers, or Cillian Murphy's character either.
Third problem i had with the movie was it didn't have a grand scale or scope the way it was advertised. The film tries hard to want to be epic but fails. On the posters it states that over 400,000 men were trapped but in the movie i didn't see that at all. Honestly, it was more like 2,000, then there was like two planes in the sky and a half a dozen boats. Really? That's what you called grand? If you enjoy a historical Action-Thriller that's full of suspense then definitely check it out. Bring some ear plugs if you can.