Dunkirk (2017) Movie Review
Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan’s new war movie, has come out this weekend and it’s awesome. Visually this movie is a masterpiece. The costume design and the special effects and the camera work and the sound are all amazing. It’s really a beautiful movie, if you leave out some of the brutal WWII violence. Some of the camera shots are truly incredible, including some of fighter planes shooting each other, which were really cool. The CGI all certainly looks great and realistic, and that adds to the overall war realism of the movie. There are some scenes that look so real that you might as well be in them (which is a good thing). Dunkirk, maybe more than any other film I have ever seen, is a work of art.
The tone of this movie is almost perfect. It is dark and gritty, and you have a constant sense that anything could happen. The plot usually works like this: bam bam bam, rest. Bam bam bam, rest. Bam bam bam, rest. “Bam bam bam” meaning a scene of gunfire or bombs exploding or a boat sinking or something, and “rest” being that that scene is over, and that the next “bam bam bam” sequence will end the “rest” pretty quick. Even when the characters are finally having a moment where nothing is burning or being shot at, you, as the audience, have this terrible feeling that something awful is about to happen to them. And it does. Every time. Just when the soldiers make it safely onto the boat, a torpedo hits it and about half of them die.
The WWII violence is toned down a bit in Dunkirk, which is fine, I guess (because if it was rated R, I probably wouldn’t have seen it). That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some horrific scenes of death and destruction, though.
The opening scene is of a group of soldiers walking through the street while little pieces of paper propaganda from the Nazis fall from the sky, informing the soldiers of their current state (we surround you, you are all going to die). It’s all pretty quiet for a little while until they are noticed by the enemy and all of them except for one are killed. It’s kind of like the beginning of Mission: Impossible. The movie establishes a group of protagonists, and then they are all but one terminated.
One interesting thing about Dunkirk is that no one character is really the “main character.” The young soldier we are first introduced to, played by Fionn Whitehead, could be considered the main character, but he’s really not. It’s really hard to say, because there are three different stories going on. The first one is about Fionn’s character and his friends just trying to survive, which takes place over a month. The second is about a couple of men on a boat who are picking up soldiers whose planes have crashed in the ocean, which takes place over a day. The third is about an air fight that’s going on, with Tom Hardy as the main character in that third of the movie, which take place over an hour.
Another thing about Dunkirk is that there’s almost no dialogue. There seriously might be 100 lines of speech in the entire movie. And the casting is kind of weird. Some of Nolan’s gang members (no offense to Christopher Nolan or any of his usual casting choices) are here, like Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy. But some more unusual people are also present, like Harry Styles. To be honest, I was pretty skeptical when I heard Harry Styles was going to be in this movie. I mean, he’s not an actor. He will always be part of One Direction to me, even if I’m not even a One Direction fan. But he’s actually good in his role as a private. Kenneth Branagh is also in this movie, in his first role I’ve seen since Wild Wild West. Mark Rylance plays an older ship captain, and is great in his role. I’ve started to like Mark Rylance between Dunkirk and Bridge of Spies. I think he’s actually a pretty good actor.
But no one is really a main character, because it’s not about the characters. It’s about the event, the battle of Dunkirk. It’s not like Saving Private Ryan, where there’s a story about characters in a circumstance. Dunkirk is about what’s going on, not who is in the battle. It’s all about the events and the action that is happening. The action in Dunkirk keeps on punching you in the face, giving you no time to breathe between scenes. The explosions and war violence keep on hammering the characters, and you end up watching almost one big scene.
The epicness of all of what’s going on on screen really gives the audience something to think about afterwards, and I have been thinking about it since I left the theater (which is something I’m glad about. Who wants to see a movie they’ll forget about in half an hour?). Overall I liked it more than Interstellar. I guess I like that movie, but it didn’t really leave a lasting impression on me after I saw it. I think Dunkirk is probably tied for me with Batman Begins. I can’t compare it to The Dark Knight or Inception or any of his other movies (I am dying to see The Dark Knight) because I haven’t seen those.
Overall I really liked it, but it isn’t as much as “I liked it” as it is “it’s good.” This is one of those movies that has to be seen. You may like it, but that wouldn’t be why you see it. You see a movie like Dunkirk because it will be good. And please do not watch this movie on your smartphone or tablet or whatever. This is definitely a movie to be seen either on a movie theater screen or a big TV. It’s like trying to see The Avengers on a phone. It just doesn’t work.
Safety Chart:
Violence: 7/10- Not as violent as you would expect. Soldiers die. People are shot, and are caught in explosions. One soldier is crushed between two ships colliding. Soldiers drown and stuff. WWII violence. Planes are shot down.
Language: 5/10- Some cursing.
Drinking/Smoking: 3/10- At the very end a soldier gets some bottles of alcohol and drinks.
I would definitely recommend seeing Dunkirk. It’s a great movie by a great director, and really deserves to be seen. Visually it is stunning. The war aspect of the movie is great, and the acting is grounded and realistic. There are some confusing parts in the beginning, but that’s just how Nolan movies work. If you haven’t watched Dunkirk yet, go see it. It’s truly one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. I would give this movie an A as a grade. If you like war movies, blockbusters, or action movies, then Dunkirk is a great movie to see.
