Christopher Nolan’s next film is Dunkirk, based on the real events that took place at Dunkirk during World War II. We’ve all seen our fair share of WWII films, but Nolan brings something new to the table. With an all-star cast that includes Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and more, it’s visceral with the intensity of Saving Private Ryan, the spectacle of The Dark Knight, and the finesse of Inception.
The footage starts off as a calm but hurried scene of Allied soldiers on the beach. They’re moving along the pier to the various ships as they depart. Our focus is on a pair of soldiers carrying a stretcher with an injured soldier. At first, everything seems fairly normal as the pair navigates through the crowded beach and pier, reaching a hole that has seemingly been created by a recent shelling. A single beam connects the two sides of the pier as the two skillfully navigate the narrow beam to the applause of the surrounding soldiers.
As the scene continues we’re shown Tom Hardy in a dogfight above the area, and Mark Rylance stripping down his civilian boat for military use. His two teenage boys help him out, but as they depart, the youngest joins them. He was never supposed to accompany his father, as the elder son asks the question, “Do you know where we’re going?” This adds to the tension, bringing in concern that the area is dangerous and it’s likely few will survive the journey.
Rylance’s small boat passes larger military vessels and the scenes shift back to Tom Hardy’s aerial battle and occasionally back to the beach. Aside from the dogfight above the area, there’s been no sign of enemy forces, but the tension begins to reach a fever pitch. Suddenly we see a large troop transport, the same one that was shown in the first teaser footage released last year. The Japanese suicide bombers can be heard in the distance as the sound of their Kamikaze planes get louder and louder until it cuts to black as the troop’s duck for cover.
This is a Christopher Nolan film from start to finish. Everything about the five minutes of footage on display screamed Christopher Nolan. We’ll have more on Dunkirk as the July 21, 2017 release date swiftly approaches.
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
