Dunkirk

Movie Review #2985 DUNKIRK.

Long awaited, much anticipated rendering of the British Army's evacuation of its expeditionary force from France in 1940.

Told from the perspectives of a soldier on the beach, a Spitfire pilot, a naval commander & a civilian boat skipper, it is powerful in its simplicity, much like The Battle of Britain from 1969. The depictions are as authentic as you're gonna get apart from a few Dunkirk buildings which looked more 1960s than 1940s and I believe the Spitfires were quite real as opposed to CGI.

Harry Styles of boy band One Direction heads a cast that boasts a mixture of heavy weights in Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy spliced in with a bunch of unknowns some of whom I'm sure won't be unknown for too much longer based on performances here.

Not overly long, it wraps up with all of our central figures surviving the fray and doesn't tug on heartstrings by dispatching any of them. It also avoids the shock elements of war depiction a la Saving Private Ryan and Hacksaw Ridge, bringing a straightforwarded-ness that enhances the proceedings by not requiring the customary blood-and-guts-ism of previous outings.

No real standout performances however Messrs Branagh and Rylance do bring a dominating screen presence as did the One Directionist.

Strongly recommend as historically informative as it is entertaining so to coin a phrase, its a 9/10 from me.