Dunkirk: Review

• This is a NON-Spoiler review for Christopher Nolan's latest film Dunkirk.

• Plot Summary: "In May 1940, Germany advances onto France, trapping troops from Belgium, the British Empire, and France, on the beaches of Dunkirk. Allied troops slowly and methodically evacuate from the beach using every serviceable naval and civilian vessel that could be found."

• Steven Spielberg is my favorite director of all time. Christopher Nolan is my favorite director of today. I love his movies. I re-watched all of Nolan's movies to prepare for Dunkirk. Interstellar is my favorite movie of his. I will defend that movie until the day I die. And it's the same situation with my favorite composers. John Williams is my favorite composer of all time. And Hans Zimmer is my favorite composer of today. So obviously I was pumped to see anything that Christopher Nolan does next. I loved Dunkirk. It's absolutely one of the best movies we've gotten this year.

• I think you should go into this knowing that Dunkirk doesn't have much violence. It's a PG-13 movie. If you want to show your kid or want to understand the terrible and bloody things that happen during war, then this probably isn't the movie for you to start with. Saving Private Ryan is the perfect movie to watch for that. Dunkirk felt more like an Alfred Hitchcock suspense movie. It's more psychological than bloody. It's scary but not traumatizing. I don't think that having it be a suspense movie is a flaw. I think it makes World War II feel like the shark in Jaws.

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• Dunkirk is absolutely riveting. It's a completely immersive spectacle. Nolan uses minimal CGI possible. So pretty much everything you see in this movie is actually happening. The war scenes look and sound INSANE. This movie feels exactly like the trailer. There's not very much dialogue at the beginning. You are dropped right into the middle of the war. And you don't know anyone. I've heard some people saying they weren't crazy about the movie because there wasn't much character development. I can understand that, but it didn't bother me.

• I don't think that Nolan set out to make a character movie like Interstellar. I think he wanted to drop you right into the war and have you be focused on the suspense and the action instead of the characters. Which is what I think separates it from most war movies. You're not completely invested in the characters, but you're mesmerized by the intensity of the battle. There were two moments between the characters that I thought were fantastic. And I love the cast of this movie. Nolan got two of my favorite actors working today being Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance. Poor Tom Hardy having his face covered and you can only hear half the words he's saying again. The whole cast is great all around.

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• I think you have got to see this in theaters and in IMAX. I was lucky enough to see it opening night at a Cinemark in Dallas, TX that had it in 70mm IMAX. There are only 30 theaters in the country that had in 70mm IMAX, which was fantastic. So look it up and if you live near a theater showing it in 70mm IMAX, it's definitely worth it. I have a feeling that if you watch this on your TV at home it will only be half as good. I think this is a movie like Mad Max: Fury Road that has to be experienced in the theater. Because everything from the cinematography, and the score, and the sound design, and the real sets are just jaw dropping and heart pounding. I applaud you Hans Zimmer for being amazing again. I see big Oscar chances for this movie.

• This is definitely one of the top movies of the year. Dunkirk is a heart pounding spectacle. It's immersive and huge and real. The dogfight scenes I could have promised you I felt the air. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It's an absolute thrill ride. And I loved it and I can't wait to see it again. I would love for Nolan to take over James Bond or get a Star Wars movie, but other than that, Nolan can do whatever he wants and I will see it. And this is definitely a Nolan style war movie. A lot of great movies like Lawrence of Arabia have a strong theme running through them. The strong theme running through this story is HOME. I'm gonna give Dunkirk an A. Go see it!