I honestly thought it was by far the most soulless and inconsequential-feeling war movie I've ever seen (though, I'm more of an old school war movie fan). Really had all of the hallmarks of a Nolan film; one-dimensional characters, weak dialog, needless tendency for time gimmicks, lack of any compelling protagonist, heavy-handed score, and what I'd basically call 'style over substance'.

It was so contrived, it was impossible for me to really think of it as having any stakes, just felt like a staged and homogenized film-production. I never felt like I was watching a war. Nolan's tendency for having characters more as archetypes and exposition-spewers as opposed to living/breathing humans with personalities didn't help. I do have to wonder if it was edited chronologically, maybe there would have been a better sense of tension since the air/land/sea scenes would have related to each other better.

I disagree, but to each his own. the main "character" is the dunkirk event itself. The lack of dialogue and the sounds immersed me in the dire situation. This movie was a survival war movie. the soldiers were not fighting the enemy like we've seen in other movies, this event was about trying to get off of France alive by any means necessary. The Germans in this movie reminded me of the Shark in Jaws. We never see it for most of the movie, but we know it's there and it's killing people. We don't see Germans or their faces, we hear their gunfire and see people get hit. We see the planes that terrorize the troops from time to time, torpedos that come out of nowhere. They were a faceless enemy. I thought the movie was tense and did a good job putting the audience in the middle of it.

that is exactly how I felt about this movie mustard.

@henahey42 said:

that is exactly how I felt about this movie mustard.

I haven't tried that movie mustard before. So, you say you feel like that movie mustard was tense and did a good job putting the audience in the middle of it?

Fun fact, I just tried cowboy ketchup the other day at a cheesesteak restaurant after watching Dunkirk. I think I'll stick with regular ketchup from now on. Don't know how I feel about being doused in any kind of mustard, though.

I thought Dunkirk was good but not great. At times it felt repetitive even though the scenes had high intensity.

I would put this in the middle of Nolan films. The Batman Trilogy, Interstellar and The Prestige are all more enthralling films imo.

@mustard said:

I disagree, but to each his own. the main "character" is the dunkirk event itself. The lack of dialogue and the sounds immersed me in the dire situation. This movie was a survival war movie. the soldiers were not fighting the enemy like we've seen in other movies, this event was about trying to get off of France alive by any means necessary. The Germans in this movie reminded me of the Shark in Jaws. We never see it for most of the movie, but we know it's there and it's killing people. We don't see Germans or their faces, we hear their gunfire and see people get hit. We see the planes that terrorize the troops from time to time, torpedos that come out of nowhere. They were a faceless enemy. I thought the movie was tense and did a good job putting the audience in the middle of it.

this. :)

Maybe. As of now, I'd go

TDK

Dunkirk

Memento ......

I'd believe it! There are very few women in this movie, correct?

still
TDK MEMENTO THE PRESTIGE

What unique perspective did he bring to the genre?

After watching Logan, terribly overhyped fantasy supernatural comic crappie, Dunkirk stands out like a work of gold. Maybe that's why I liked it so much, too. I think the movie you see before a movie affects how you see it.

I'm just so glad and refreshed a blockbuster came out this summer that wasn't fantasy comic books or reboots, remakes, trilogies, sequels. That alone wins Dunkirk an extra star.

I think a lot of the haters of this movie are comic book and fantasy Sci fi brainwashed film goers who if Transformers or Darth Vader don't show up, they get disappointed.

@Heisenberg12 said:

After watching Logan, terribly overhyped fantasy supernatural comic crappie, Dunkirk stands out like a work of gold. Maybe that's why I liked it so much, too. I think the movie you see before a movie affects how you see it.

I'm just so glad and refreshed a blockbuster came out this summer that wasn't fantasy comic books or reboots, remakes, trilogies, sequels. That alone wins Dunkirk an extra star.

I think a lot of the haters of this movie are comic book and fantasy Sci fi brainwashed film goers who if Transformers or Darth Vader don't show up, they get disappointed.

I could also say that Dunkirk fans are brainless bimbo one directioners and creepy old pervs with a penchant for stranded twinks in uniform.... But my online etiquette expressly forbids me from saying that.

Some very well directed moments distract the viewer from the lack of substance. It was half measures dramatically and historically. Still, I enjoyed it well enough. I don't think less of anyone who loves/hates it. I leave that to the children in the DC/MCU War.

Nolan ranking (of what I've seen)

1. Memento: A
2. Inception: A
3. Prestige: A-
4. TDK: A- (B- without Heath)
5. Insomnia: B
6. Interstellar: B
7. Batman Begins: B-
8. Dunkirk: C+
9. TDKR: F+

Extra body on a small boat going to rescue people? Falls over and dies. Interested in the silent duo trying to escape the beach? Me too. Messy directing dries up interest. Surrounded by Nazis? Hello?

"TDK: A- (B- without Heath)"

So does this mean that I can rate Scarface without Pacino, Heat without Deniro and Pacino, Good Will Hunting without Damon and Affleck, for you Inception without DiCaprio...etc...(for example).

This argument really is shortsighted. A film is obviously a team and no one is more responsible for bringing outthe best in his acting core than the director himself. If you are going to take out Ledger, you may as well take out Nolan too because that's who directed his performance. See? To take out Ledger is just as arbitrary as taking out any piece. It's also like saying "Gravity- A, but without the Visuals/Lubezki's Cinematography a C-"...See what that means?

Mine go like this:

1. TDK- 10/10
2. Dunkirk- 9/10
3. Memento- 9/10
4. Batman Begins- 8/10
5. TDKR- 7.5/10
6. Inception- 7/10 (2nd most overrated of his catalogue)
7. Interstellar- 7/10
8. Insomnia- 6/10 (Prestige- haven't seen)

Just my opinion..

The Prestige is on Netflix in the U.S. If you aren't absolutely hooked by the first 26 minutes, then by all means shut it off. However, if might end up being your favorite Nolan film seeing how you have ranked the others.