Of course any Christopher Nolan film is going to peak many moviegoers interest since he is one of the more consistent film makers in Hollywood and I don't think he has made a "bad" film. Some are of course better than others but none of them are infuriating to watch, even Following is interesting enough as to make up for its lack of polish. So where does Dunkirk rank among his films? Its on the lower end of the scale just below Interstellar, which is a film I personally love, but is nowhere near as good as Inception or The Prestige.
About a week before Dunkirk was released I discovered the run-time which surprised me clocking in at only 106 minutes, in my head I thought Nolan making a war movie would be at least 150 mins, which dampened my excitement which is silly I know but it just did not sound right to me. To my surprise I think the film is a little bit too long which is crazy when paired with my last statement but I think the ending should have ended sooner but I will go into further details later on.
Lets start with what was good about this film, first off the sound design is amazing and is on par with Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, which is good company to be in, with the Spitfires absolutely rocking the theatre and the explosions actually having bass to them which has been lost in recent years. The use of real extras and practical effects really helps a film of this calibre I have always appreciated how Nolan would rather do something practically or in camera and only using CG as a last resort or as a way to enhance what is already there. Costumes and the look of the film is brilliant and that is down to it being shot on 70 mm which looks great and its a shame that most cinemas use digital projection because a film like this would really pop with a proper projector. Overall there is nothing "wrong" with the film in fact it has been a long time since I was so invested in a movie in the cinema. The only problems I have with the film are minor at best and play more into personal preference rather than the movie itself.
The ending is the biggest problem for me and its the reason why I have decided to not award it a higher score, I personally think the film should have ended when the soldiers left Dunkirk and Kenneth Branagh looks over the channel but instead the film drags on as we follow the men back home and it feels unnecessary and tacked on for "emotional" effect. The acting overall was fine for a movie of this type but no one really stood out as amazing but again this is not the film where someone will win an Oscar for best actor. My biggest complaint is something that most people would not even consider nor care but I feel as if the cinematography does not correspond with the use of 70 mm. The film was very close quarters and this may just be due to watching in a cinema, that frankly does not care about image quality, but the shots felt compressed and cramped, without many wide shots which, for me, defeats the purpose of the bigger film stock. Those are my only real issues with the movie and I think that this is going to be the film of the year for me.
Overall Dunkirk is one of the most suspense filled movies I have seen in the cinema in recent memory and I recommend that everyone go see it. I do have problems with the film which does take a toll on my rating for Dunkirk but these are down to personal preference and most people would not even notice. Definitely go see this one and see it in 70 mm if you can I can imagine it would be an amazing experience.
7.5/10
Written By
Ashley Harvey
No comments:
Post a Comment