Christopher Nolan‘s latest film, Dunkirk, appears to have all the elements of a Nolan-film that have become a classic. Staring some familiar faces in Nolan’s catalogue including Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) and Cillian Murphy (Inception, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins), Dunkirk also introduces many audiences to new faces including Fionn Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, and Barry Keoghan.

Dunkirk, based on a true-story, takes place during World War II. The film centers around a group of British soldiers trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk, France. England is only 26 miles across the English Chanel but the soldiers have no way to reach it. Meanwhile, Axis troops have surrounded them and have begun to bomb the beach from the air. In attempt to save their boys, civilians take their boats from England to France, directly into danger.

Nolan’s film has received widespread praise, as has become expected of his work. Like many of his biggest films, the legendary Hans Zimmer composed the score for Dunkirk.

Dunkirk opens in theaters on July 21. Read some reviews below.

DUNKIRK REVIEW ROUND UP

“If Saving Private Ryan veers a bit too much toward pulling on heartstrings, Dunkirk is a touch cooler and more cerebral than it might have been…But that slight tilt does not undermine the film’s great accomplishment. In a swift 106 minutes, watching Dunkirk becomes a stunning and genuine experience, enveloping viewers in a way few movies ever do.” – Caryn James, BBC

“It’s not enough to say that Dunkirk is Christopher Nolan’s best film. It’s one of the best war films ever made, distinct in its look, in its approach and in the effect it has on viewers. There are movies — they are rare — that lift you out of your present circumstances and immerse you so fully in another experience that you watch in a state of jaw-dropped awe. Dunkirk is that kind of movie.” – Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle 

“From first frame to last, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is a monumental achievement, a World War II epic of staggering visual spectacle (see it in IMAX if you can) that hits you like a shot in the heart. Leave it to a filmmaking virtuoso at the peak of his powers to break both new ground and all the rules – who else would make a triumphant war film about a crushing Allied defeat? And who but Nolan, born in London to a British father and an American mother, would tackle WWII without America in it?” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

“Even the aspects of “Dunkirk” that didn’t sit right with me are all of a piece. This is a movie of vision and integrity made on an epic scale, a series of propositions dramatized with machines, bodies, seawater and fire. It deserves to be seen and argued about. They don’t make them like this anymore. Never did, really.” – Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

 

Watch the trailer below.