Dunkirk Review: A "visionary" violation
I'm not quite as Nolan-obsessed as many. Still, I was quite interested to see how he'd try his hand at a war film when he's infamous for having mediocre, hyper-emotionally restrained characters. I personally find war films live or die based on their ability to deliver deeply moving, emotional moments and build palpable tension throughout—even if the film is more of a political exploration of war. I was pretty confident in Nolan's ability to deliver tension, but I was a tad worried about the emotional core. Without deep stakes, war films are simply hollow blockbusters that make a bit of a mockery of the people who actually fought and died in those conflicts. So, did Dunkirk deliver what it needed to, or did it fall flat? That's what I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker, will be discussing in today's review. Thanks for joining me, and I hope you enjoy your time on the site!
First, the positives. Nolan and his cinematographers did a great job creating stunning shots and keeping decent small-scale tension throughout the runtime. I also liked the separation of the multiple groups (air, land, and sea), which was a decently new formula for a war flick, even if its non-linearity added practically nothing to the experience.
I also thought a couple of scenes packed some decent emotions, with the injured kid on the boat being the best scene of the film. My favorite aspect of the film was the score, which was another solid one from Hans Zimmer.
However, Dunkirk left me thoroughly disappointed and, frankly, baffled that Nolan made it. First, the characters here, aside from the one kid on the boat, are basically stand-ins. There's no greater sin a war film can have than me feeling nothing literally when I see soldiers blowing up because it has the emotional bandwidth of a generic action movie. Sure, the camerawork often feels tense, and the production design is gritty, but Nolan's intense emotional restraint here ruined the experience entirely.
A film with bad characters is the worst type of movie for me, and a blunder like this needs much more substance to make up for it. I enjoyed Nolan's The Odyssey a lot this year, even though I felt his interpretation of most characters was pretty mediocre, except for Penelope and the witch. However, the stakes, action, horror, and more made up for it for me.
By contrast, Dunkirk feels like it has the scope of an anthill. I was supposed to buy into the fact that thousands upon thousands of soldiers were risking their lives, but it felt more like eight dudes got lost on a beach while cosplaying. While the camerawork and setpieces are solid, I shouldn't find the 20 minutes or so of war scenes from Forrest Gump to eclipse this movie in its entirety. I felt a lot more emotion and gravitas watching Pressure and Young Washington from this movie, and I wouldn't even call either of those particularly great films.
When all is said and done, Dunkirk is a wooden film without emotion or a grand scale. As such, the tense, beautiful cinematography goes to waste on something so dull and poorly sound mixed that I'd have guessed some random director with a decent eye made this, not the "top working director today". Don't get me wrong: I adore Nolan's Batman trilogy. Memento is an incredible classic, and The Odyssey is dominating the box office for a reason. I'm shocked he put this and Tenet out between awesome movies like Interstellar and Oppenheimer...
The Reel Ranker Verdict
Reel or Unreel? - Unreel
The Reel Ranker Score: 35%
Letter Score: D+
Star Ranking: 2 out of 5
Dunkirk is truly one of the most disappointing films I've ever watched, and a poor attempt at a "visionary" war film. While it's shot well, has some tension, and is scored very well, everything in between is a mediocre showing from Nolan: a huge miss from a great director.
Interested in checking out some recent reviews for some other war, drama, and Nolan films? See them below!
Brighton Nelson
Brighton Nelson
Brighton Nelson
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