Christopher Nolan is so explorative, always keen of telling stories out of his comfort zone, he could well have been named Christopher Columbus. And thankfully, his explorative storytelling stretches it's distances towards his latest 'Dunkirk' as well- from the startling first scene where armies walk with papers coasting across an unsettling breeze, or the wonderstriking last scene where an army man looks upon a newspaper sheet, his face covered in dust- it's the most riveting set-pieces combination in recent times.

But fine story-telling as it is, you cannot help but just notice the lack of cohesive, concrete and coherent screenplay, which falls flat towards the first half and merely sags around the second half. It's a well-made film that's thoroughly fun as it lasts, but "gems", as they say, need more than that. A dark knight maybe (😉).

Still, watch 'Dunkirk' for experiencing a fine technical experience. You even may not notice it's flaws- I didn't, I found it faultlessly made, infact. It is a film as devastating as it is moving. From another lens though, you read those dialogue in your head, and just decide to not get settled or recommend it.
3/5.

I consider myself biased against War movies. Honestly I do not find them entertaining... you might say war movies depict reality but again who said war movies cannot be entertaining, take for example Inglorious Bastards just love that..

Ok. Enough about myself :-) coming back to the movie. It is a great movie with some kick ass moments you must not have experienced before. And this movie is not for the small screen, if you have to watch it, you have to do it on a big screen b'coz it does have the sound, visuals and VFX which the small screen cannot do justice to.

Over the years, Hollywood has had some extraordinary directors such as Hitchcock, Spielberg, Lucas, Ridley Scott, Tarantino etc etc. But one person who has absolutely fascinated me with each of his films is Christopher Nolan. I became his fan with "Memento" & since then he has never ceased to surprise the audience with his craft. On the contrary, he kept setting the bar higher & higher. So when the trailer of his war thriller "Dunkirk" hit the screens just before Xmas, it created an unprecedented hype & anticipation. Is it indeed one of the greatest war movie ever made???

As the name suggests, it is about the evacuation of the British forces who were stranded on the beach of Dunkirk in France during WWII. The enemy (interestingly not even once, Germany is mentioned) was unleashing hell on the 400,000 soldiers who were virtually sitting ducks on the beach. The movie moves in a non linear pattern with three separate tracks, each of which focuses on land, water & air respectively. The first track happens over a week & is about a young British soldier Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) who had managed to reach the beach alive & was trying to find a vessel which would take him home. With the Royal Navy ships coming under heavy fire, they opt to command private boats for evacuation. Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance) joins the mission but rather than wait for the Navy, he sets sail on his own with his son Peter (Tom Glynn) & his friend, George (Barry Keoghan). This track unfolds over a day while the third segment happens over an hour in the sky. The Royal Airforce spitfire fighters which included Farrier (Tom Hardy) tried to keep the airspace clear to provide a safe passage for the rescue boats.

Apart from donning the director's hat, Nolan has penned this brilliant script as well. The beauty of the movie is that even though there are very few dialogues, the impact that is able to create on the audience is unbelievable. He has weaved all the three segments so well that even though there are difference in time duration, we dont feel it at all. All the technical aspects are brilliant & so realistic especially the aerial sequences that we actually feel we are on the fighter planes, kudos to Hoyte's breath taking visuals. Another major factor that elevated the viewing experience to a whole different level was Hans Zimmer's music which instills chills & goose bumps in equal measure.

As far as performances are concerned, each & every actor has done utmost justice to their roles. Tom Hardy with his mask on reminded me of Bane from "The Dark Knight Rises" but that didnt handicap him as his expressions conveys the emotions effectively. The same applies to Kenneth Branagh as Commander Bolton, Mark Rylance & Tom Glynn as well.

Verdict: It is undoubtedly one of the greatest war movies ever made which is more than reason enough not to miss this gem. Even without the gory scenes that is part & parcel of movies in this genre, it still manages to keep us on the edge of our seats. In short, just rush to your nearest theatre if you havent done it till now!!!

Rating: 4.5/5

Regards...Ben