Dunkirk opinions ? [spoiler]

Deschodt · 07-31-2017, 06:46 AM

So I imagine a few of you have seen it by now... Great reviews, oscar talk, "best war movie ever made!", etc...

I did not like it at all... The movie left me cold... I found the music (if you can call it that) irritating... The 3 timelines did not always intermix skillfully (night/day, cut at the wrong time). Zero investment in any of the characters, hell the minute they got wet I could not tell who was who anymore anyway...

The only fun part for me was the spitfire "day" which was well shot and looked real, but even then they ruined it for me at the end... A spit with no engine at what looked like 500 ft above sea level manages to get away from the He-111 kill and position itself to shoot a diving stuka ??? Nope, just the geometry of that attack would not work.. Then he glides some more (!!! ) for like 2 eternities.... to land in enemy lines ? With that kind of energy he could have ditched in the middle of 100000 friends instead.. Hmmm... anyway not to nitpick, it just didn't gell at all and I heard a lot of folks were disappointed too..

I was fascinated by the battle of britain as a kid and read all the book, saw all the movies, this did not do it for me at all...

Went to see the way-lower-rated "Atomic blonde" the next day, now that delivered on its preview - fun! Not sure that 964 turbo was out in late 89 but it was a great flick...

cbush · 07-31-2017, 07:39 AM

Such a huge topic to try and cover in a short movie. I enjoyed the movie and thought it did a good job of capturing some of the emotion of the evacuation. I would have liked to see more of the story of how they got all the boats to come evacuate Soldiers. The movie was a little disjointed but overall, pretty powerful.

BReif61 · 07-31-2017, 07:51 AM

I thought the movie was great. The only issue I had was the Stuka kill. The pilot did not travel very far before landing: it was established earlier that the Germans were right on the beach (target practice at the found boat).

Definitely two thumbs up. And I think the anonymity of the infantrymen might have been intentional.

Deschodt · 07-31-2017, 08:08 AM

I agree with disjointed and powerful... I guess I was also expecting a more cathartic moment at the end... felt more like a great documentary... Oscars ? nope. It's well filmed, no major issues other than the glide path of a spit, but I could not get invested in it at all...

tabs · 07-31-2017, 10:58 AM

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." Winston Churchill

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

I would have written Deschodt's post verbatim if he hadn't. Saw it Sat. night, as it was the first movie in years that made me want to deal with going to the cinema. I wanted a refund.

mgatepi · 07-31-2017, 11:37 AM

Plus 1
We wanted a refund also.....

Crowbob · 07-31-2017, 12:11 PM

I had trouble with the timelines myself.

I've been doing a little reading on the subject which cleared things up tremendously.

The hype exceeded the experience, IMO.

Good movie. Not great. Not even close to Private Ryan. Worth seeing at IMAX matinee for cheap which is what I did. Should do well for at-home viewing.

rusnak · 07-31-2017, 12:57 PM

Odd choice for a major director and studio to make a movie about an outright military failure.

tabs · 07-31-2017, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rusnak

Odd choice for a major director and studio to make a movie about an outright military failure.

Whose failure zeee Germans?

It was called the miracle of Dunkirk. It was botched by zee Germans, they had the Brits cold and let em escape. If they had closed the book on the Brits we would be speaking Deutsche right now.

john70t · 07-31-2017, 02:28 PM

Well that and der fuerer's ADD with op Sea Lion given up on and Goering completely unconcerned about strategy or success. Meh whatever. Kitchen fire? Pass that joint and someone flip the record already. We got more important things to do. Can't you see we are busy?

It was similar to Yamamoto/other not following through in the Pacific so many times when they had the upper hand.

KNS · 07-31-2017, 04:57 PM

I was a bit disappointed. The music kept building up to something - but what?

I realize they portrayed the same scene from different view points but it seemed like it took that Spitfire an hour to shoot down the Heinkel (even though we see him shoot it down earlier).

And the Spitfire glided for ever.. and ever.. and ever....

sc_rufctr · 05:04 PM

I saw it on Sunday night with my son and his GF.

Absolutely loved it... I held my breath for two hours! The tension was intense, it just builds and builds. I was truly immersed in the whole experience. Movie story telling at its near best. Private Ryan is the bench mark and this comes close. What really got to me is how young these lads were and also the dreadful waste. Why would they leave their rifles behind on the beach and walkways? Were they that desperate?* And the young lad dying like that on his father's boat! Can you even begin to imagine how the rescued soldier felt? That would haunt you for the rest of your life!

The Spitfire, Stuker (Junkers Ju 87), Heinkel scenes at the end? It's not easy to explain how a Spitfire could shoot down a Heinkel in that situation unless he was extremely lucky and lined up a shot from a long distance away. They spent a lot of time and ammunition siting in the guns of a Spitfire and they had a HUD so maybe but still difficult to believe.

The glide path of the Spitfire? Not really sure what to think about that. He seemed to be gliding at at very high speed (it looked too fast to me) and could of turned around and landed closer to the the British troops but he had to get his landing gear down so that may help explain what happened. Could the pilot even know were the Germans were?

What disappointed me was there was no German perspective. That could have been a very interesting part of the movie considering what happened. Imagine Hitler, Goering and Von Rundstedt discussing their options!

I'd recommend seeing it. It's not a perfect movie but it does a more than adequate job of telling this complex story.

(*As an ex soldier I can't imagine a situation were I would willingly leave my rifle behind)

sc_rufctr · 05:20 PM

You've just had your 22nd birthday & your job is to fly one of these!

Average age of British pilots: 22.
Average life expectancy of a Spitfire pilot: 4 weeks!

drcoastline · 01:27 AM

Saw it tonight. Good cinematography. I had high hopes as the movie opened, after that the time line was difficult to follow until near the end. As with others was very disappointed in the end Spitfire scene. Why not take that plane out into the channel how ever far it will go and ditch? Even a few hundred yards would get you picked up. Why land on the beach? He knew they were evacuating and the Germans were coming. That's why he was flying cover. I also disagree with the fight scene on the boat in which the boy died. The only significance of that was to get the tug on the heart strings at the end. Not necessary in my opinion. It would have been much better to show him as a real hero, dying during an attack or better living another day.

Any way, I found it to be OK. Definitely not the greatest war movie ever. Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan much better.

sc_rufctr · 05:55 PM

I think the boat scene with the boy dying was important. Yes it did pull at the heart strings but the father could of turned back when he was injured but instead chose to keep going because he knew their troops were in peril.

EDIT: FYI The father had lost and older son who was a Hurricane pilot a few weeks earlier. Such sacrifice is hard for us to understand but that's what it took for them to prevail.

Shaun @ Tru6 · 07-31-2017, 06:38 PM

Just came back from seeing it and had to see it in 70mm.

It was phenomenal. Cinematography, excellent. Music was powerful, it pushed you through the whole movie. Color, fantastic color. Story and acting were real, you weren't watching a war movie, you were there, part of it, watching it unfold.

Peter really captured it well with "I held my breath for two hours! The tension was intense, it just builds and builds. I was truly immersed in the whole experience."

The tension was intense, I loved how it built, can't say enough about how the music was key element to that. It was a rush.

tabs · 07-31-2017, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john70t

Well that and der fuerer's ADD with op Sea Lion given up on and Goering completely unconcerned about strategy or success. Meh whatever. Kitchen fire? Pass that joint and someone flip the record already. We got more important things to do. Can't you see we are busy?

It was similar to Yamamoto/other not following through in the Pacific so many times when they had the upper hand.

I didn't know you were a Stoner! Explains a lot.

john70t · 07-31-2017, 09:49 PM

Oh greatness one, pontificater of pure truth, of wind which might move great ships, of the hot air of such magnitude to overshadow even el nino blowing out yer tush, please stay on subject: Speed for the pilots, opiates and barbiturates for Goering, and that special cocktail injection for the top dawg hmfic with the shakes. At least that's what some claim. We like to think America won the war, and having two unsecured fronts existing certainly did not help at all, but invading Russia was what did them in. The Ruski's had nothing but land and time and willing walking dead to wear down the juggernaught.

Holger · 11:06 PM

I look at those movies like most movies, its fiction.
They will never be able to catch the sceneries and the horrors of those wars as they where experienced by our fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers.
It is all twisted and bent to make a plot and a great view. Nothing else is the intention.

I cant imagine anyone taking those movies for historical documentary showing any reality.
Enjoy a good (or not) movie but dont make a historical event or witness out of it.

About the sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVWTQcZbLgY