Christopher Nolan doesn’t step behind the lens very often, but when he does, the industry tends to stand up and take notice. His latest, Dunkirk, also heralds a welcome change of pace for the prestigious filmmaker in that the wartime epic marks Nolan’s first crack at a true story. And by the looks of things, he’s poised to dive right in at the deep end.
Set during the early stages of World War II, Dunkirk chronicles a massive, death-defying rescue mission known as Operation Dynamo, as the Allied forces scrambled to rescue thousands of troops from the claws of the German army. What followed was one of the more decisive encounters of the entire war, leading to the famous “we will fight them on the beaches” speech from then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
And so, much like The Dark Knight before it, last year Warner attached an IMAX prologue of Dunkirk to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Clocking in at seven minutes in length, the reaction coming out of the extensive promo was overwhelmingly positive and thanks to a second screening, ComicBook.com ran the rule over Dunkirk‘s opening before posting the following in-depth preview:
“The tension that is established from the onset of Dunkirk is palpable, and the way that the threat of death is ever-present (from the very first frame) yet never directly referenced, is truly unnerving – especially in IMAX. The expanded format is wholly necessary, allowing Nolan to frame shots in a way that directly contributes to the subtext and themes of the film. For example, in the climatic moment where we hear the sound of the Axis plane swooping down for the kill, the entire pier (crammed with soldiers) is framed in a gorgeous IMAX shot – framing with frightening clarity the terrible, sitting-ducks-in-a-row trap the soldiers are caught in. Some of them are about to die – the only questions are, how many? And how badly?”
Dunkirk storms off the beaches and into theaters in time for July 21st. That’s smack bang in the middle of Hollywood’s summer blockbuster season (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is also booked in for the third week of July), which signals an exciting vote of confidence from Warner. It is Nolan, after all, but can the filmmaker do good on such an epic tale of bravery and heroism? Time will tell.
