Movie Breakdown: 1917

Pre-Screening Ramble:

Sam Mendes is a very good director.  There’s only one movie of his (it’s Spectre) that I don’t really care for, and I can’t even claim to hate it.  As for his latest effort, 1917, it looks as though it has a real shot at being the best war film since Saving Private Ryan.

Post-Screening Ramble:

A whole lot has been made of 1917 and the manner in which it was crafted to look like one continuous shot, but as it turns out, that’s probably the least interesting part of the movie.  This isn’t to say the technique isn’t noteworthy, because it is, but once the first 10-15 minutes of the film zoom by, you stop noticing it all together and instead get completely caught up in the dramatic journey of two men.  One is Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and the other is Schofield (George MacKay), and they’ve been given a message that must be delivered very quickly or 1,600 of their fellow soldiers will die.  Further complicating this is that they must cut across enemy territory if they hope to make it in time.  This, as you’ve likely guessed, is a very intense film.  These two men get tossed into the thick of it as soon as they step out of their command post and things only further ramp up with every step forward that they take.  Surprisingly, even with all the heroic stuff in play, Sam Mendes also does well to to avoid viewing World War I through rose-tinted glasses.  You see mangled countrysides, ruined towns, downtrodden soldiers, mounds of dead men and more that will make you wonder how anyone ever made it through such a thing.

1917 is indeed the best war movie since Saving Private Ryan and is a must-see.  Make sure you experience it in a theater!

One Last Thought:

I still don’t get why Doctor Sleep was released after Halloween, and I’ll likely never understand why a war film like 1917 didn’t land in theaters in time for Veteran’s Day.  You’d think that someone at these studios would take a moment to glance at the marketing data (that’s surely available) and then make a move to help get butts into seats.