Thread: Dunkirk - Film Review

Not as much as would be hoped, although there were some standout units. Large sections of the French Army and Belgian army surrendered without much of a fight. Very poor High Echelon Staff decisions (both British and French) effectively had them fighting WW1 all over again and the new (yet to be termed) Blitzkrieg tactics meant lots of confusion on the ground and in the air. They incorporated no lessons learned from the Polish campaign and even collapsed quicker than did the Poles, especially given the unexpected thrust of the main attack (Ardennes forest). Many small debacles eventually led to a bigger debacle. It's a pity they didn't show some of the French and British units which actually DID slug it out and gave the Germans a bloody nose, especially some of the tankers and professional units (ie 51st Highlanders, see 'Dunkirk, the men they left behind' and 'Forgotten voices of Dunkirk') that held on weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation, and fought a valiant rearguard action.

Dunkirk offers a lesson – but it isn’t what Nigel Farage thinks | Zoe Williams | Opinion | The Guardian

Well, finally got around to watching this - glad I didn't pay to go see it...

Wasn't aweful, but wasn't great either IMO. Almost fell asleep...

I also found it very dull (apart from the Spitfire shots). I think it was because the characters involved were so anonymous or little explained. I'm not even sure the viewer knew any of their names. Which meant that quite frankly I didn't care whether they made it off the beach or not.

Originally Posted by Classic88

I also found it very dull (apart from the Spitfire shots). I think it was because the characters involved were so anonymous or little explained. I'm not even sure the viewer knew any of their names. Which meant that quite frankly I didn't care whether they made it off the beach or not.

Couldnt agree more. Woeful film.

1 out of 5 for me. Yeah, the spitfire shots were great but that was about it.

Originally Posted by TimNZ

1 out of 5 for me. Yeah, the spitfire shots were great but that was about it.

Generous IMV. The Spit was gorgeous, but a Spit had at most 15 seconds of firing from it's wing mounted .303s, while the plane in that film had about 15 MINUTES.

Also, fighters would rarely operate at sea level, which the "hero" seemed to do for most of the film.

( Yes, I know that various parts of the film were 'revisited for dramatic purposes' .)

If you want a romanticised version of the events of Dunkirk, I would suggest "Mrs Miniver". It had at least some of the emotions right.

1/2 out of 5 for me. Romanticised crap with some good cinematography. Best avoided.

Originally Posted by Classic88

Which meant that quite frankly I didn't care whether they made it off the beach or not.

Strangely, I believe that may have been what the director was aiming for. Anonymity. Seems he achieved it. Terrible film, yet so much potential.