Most critics come away shaken and persuaded. Six of the eight reviews are positive, none negative, and the praise falls in two places. The first is the camerawork: the jittery handheld style is credited with making the day feel immediate while keeping the chaos clear, and the Los Angeles Times calls the result exceptional advocacy cinema. The second is James Nesbitt as Ivan Cooper, the harassed idealist leading the march, whose frazzled, naturalistic performance is singled out by nearly every reviewer as the film’s emotional centre; Empire calls it his best work.
The reservations are modest and scattered. The AV Club thinks the attempt to humanise the British soldiers is unnecessary; Slant notes how little historical context the film supplies; IndieWire finds the visual approach sometimes slows the momentum rather than driving it. The spread is narrow, running from approving to enthusiastic, and the two more muted reviews offer description rather than complaint.