--- title: "Dunkirk: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dunkirk/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dunkirk" critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dunkirk (2017): what the critics said Critics' score 84 from 14 reviews: 12 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics praise Dunkirk as an unusually tense survival film, with Christopher Nolan’s handling of land, sea and air keeping the evacuation immediate and comprehensible. Praise centres on the large-format photography, forceful sound design and Hans Zimmer’s insistent score. The intercut timelines are widely admired for building suspense without lengthy explanations or character backstories. Several reviews also find considerable feeling in the restrained performances and small acts of solidarity. The main disagreement concerns how much emotional depth survives that stripped-down approach. The Evening Standard admires the technical achievement but finds the emotional range limited, while The New Yorker argues that the spectacle and structure flatten the people caught within them. Collider likewise praises the craft but finds the experience frustratingly remote. The spread is wide, though strongly weighted towards approval: most critics find the focus on immediate survival moving rather than distancing. ## Radio Times — Jeremy Aspinall Rating ★★★★★. 17 July 2017. The review calls it a glorious, breathtakingly vivid triumph from a director at the top of his game. They single out the utterly immersive experience created by IMAX and 65mm filming, nerve-shredding suspense, authentic visuals, elemental spectacle, superb sound and Hans Zimmer's score. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/dunkirk-a-glorious-breathtaking-triumph-from-director-christopher-nolan/) ## The i Paper — Matthew Turner Rating ★★★★★. 19 July 2017. The critic declares it a visceral, nerve-shredding pulse-pounder and the most immersive war movie ever made that needs to be experienced on the biggest screen. The one thing singled out for praise is the phenomenal score from Hans Zimmer that drives the action with forceful insistence. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/dunkirk-film-review-christopher-nolan-79547) ## The Telegraph Rating 5/5. 21 July 2017. Nolan's retelling of the 1940 evacuation is a work of heart-hammering intensity and grandeur that demands to be seen on the biggest screen. The multi-stranded narrative and recreation of combat sequences create an astonishing, immersive experience focused on young soldiers and civilian heroism. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/dunkirk-review-heart-hammering-heroically-british-christopher/) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating A. 17 July 2017. The critic hails Dunkirk as Christopher Nolan's best film to date, a monumental and unnerving sensory assault that finds order amid chaos. It singles out the film's technical mastery in IMAX and 70mm for conveying the scale and isolation of the event. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan-harry-styles-tom-hardy-imax-70mm-1201855825/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 July 2017. The critic calls it an intensely dramatic and moving film that combines the epic and the intimate and must surely already be an Oscar frontrunner. The one thing singled out for praise is the hyper-realistic fashion and intensity that leaves most other recent Second World War movies looking insipid by comparison. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan-release-date-harry-styles-tom-hardy-war-film-oscars-a7848386.html) ## Empire — Nick de Semlyen Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2017. The critic praises Nolan's film as a spare, propulsive combat thriller that is both a rousing celebration of solidarity and the tensest beach-set film since Jaws. The one thing singled out for praise is the meticulous and mesmerising structure intercutting three timelines from land, sea and air. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dunkirk-2-review/) ## The Times — Edward Porter Rating ★★★★. 23 July 2017. Nolan weaves three tales to gripping effect in this dramatisation of the Dunkirk saga, celebrating heroism with bulldog-spirited zeal and impressive mechanical spectacles. The film draws viewers into characters' plights amid a powerfully visualised and ominous score. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/film-review-dunkirk-christopher-nolan-kl5vq7w90) ## Evening Standard — Matthew Norman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 November 2017. The critic hails it as the most technically dazzling movie shot wholly on film in years and the most purely visceral war picture. The one thing singled out for complaint is that it lacks the emotional range to be considered a truly great film. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dunkirk-review-a-courageous-technically-dazzling-war-epic-a3682006.html) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 26 July 2017. The critic finds the film a paradoxical war movie that suppresses physical horrors to focus on moral horror and collective purpose but blanks out characters and personal depth. He singles out the immersive, large-format presentation and the land-sea-air structure as technically impressive yet ultimately flattening. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/dunkirk-a-war-movie-about-patriotic-ciphers) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan 20 July 2017. The critic praises the film as both intimate and epic, confounding expectations while succeeding masterfully through immersion in the historical event. He singles out the literal fusion with the story and the tension-filled emotional experience it creates. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-dunkirk-review-20170720-story.html) ## Screen Daily 17 July 2017. The review describes it as a soaring war epic which impresses on every level, with masterful direction and astonishing technical prowess delivering heart-stopping entertainment. They single out the powerful choreography of three intersecting time frames, lucid camerawork, sharp editing and the demand to be seen on the big screen. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/dunkirk-review/5119930.article) ## Sight and Sound — Philip Kemp 21 July 2017. The critic praises the film's breathtaking realism, sterling performances and distinctly restrained direction, which combine to make it a wrenching spectacle. They single out the minimal CGI, focus on visceral impact without backstories or extraneous dialogue, and the immersive power of the imagery and pacing. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-dunkirk-christopher-nolans-victorious-retreat) ## The Guardian 23 July 2017. Nolan delivers a jaw-dropping, immersive spectacle that becomes the definitive cinematic take on the Dunkirk evacuation through its innovative three-strand structure and minimal dialogue. The film excels in its visual splendour, sound design and Hans Zimmer score, with quieter moments standing out amid the action. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jul/23/dunkirk-review-terrifyingly-immersive-christopher-nolan) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 17 July 2017. The critic calls Dunkirk an impressionist masterpiece and a stunning victory for Nolan. It praises the film's visual immersion, radical intercut timelines, and refusal of conventional war-movie tropes or sentimentality in favor of raw survival and resolve. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/dunkirk-review-1021600/) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis 20 July 2017. The critic calls the film a tour de force of cinematic craft and technique in service of a sober, moral story. She singles out Nolan's use of visual sweep and emotional intimacy, along with the score, to close the distance between past and present. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/movies/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan.html) ## Variety 17 July 2017. The critic describes the film as Nolan recreating the evacuation from land, sea, and air in a bravura, immersive account. He singles out the sophisticated manipulation of time and space and the full-body suspense as hallmarks of a distinctly Nolan film. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan-1202495701/) ## Digital Spy — Rosie Fletcher Rating 5/5. 21 July 2017. An absolute masterpiece and the best film of the year so far, Nolan's most visceral and emotionally devastating work yet. It stuns with its immersive sound and visuals, sparse but powerful storytelling across three timelines, and strong ensemble performances. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a833061/dunkirk-review/) ## /Film — Karen Han Rating 9/10. 21 July 2017. The critic praises the film's overwhelming scale and visuals, its intricate construction of parallel storylines across time and space, and its emotional heart amid the bleakness of war. It is breathtaking and transcendent in its use of sound, music, and perspective. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/552240/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan-has-made-another-great-film/) ## Polygon — Charles Bramesco Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 July 2017. The critic praises Nolan's skill in creating a thunderous, intense war film that meditates on duty, fear, and heroism through a triptych structure, highlighting the technical spectacle and emotional depth without relying on gore. It singles out the focus on survival challenges and the interplay between self and greater good for praise. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/2017/7/17/15985578/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 20 July 2017. The critic finds Dunkirk a departure for Nolan, focusing on the experiential intensity of survival rather than character or story, resulting in a frustrating yet demanding experience due to its remote yet immediate approach. Praises the visual craft, direction, and score but notes it feels less than the sum of its parts. [Read the review](https://collider.com/dunkirk-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape Rating 3/5. 17 July 2017. The critic calls Dunkirk a masterclass in storytelling with intertwined narratives of characters fighting different battles. It is moving and devastating yet uplifted by acts of kindness and courage, and ultimately haunting. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/dunkirk-review/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond 20 July 2017. The critic likens the film to a Hitchcock thriller, praising Nolan's handling of the evacuation as a tense survival story told through three parallel perspectives with minimal dialogue. They single out the exceptional craft, including sound design, editing, Hans Zimmer's score, and Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography, for creating a riveting and emotionally resonant experience. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2017/07/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan-harry-styles-1202132557/) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 5 out of 5. 21 July 2017. Nolan delivers a relentless, engrossing and astounding piece of cinema at the top of his game. The film excels through its staggering scale on the beach, visceral sound design and tension built via multiple timelines and minimal dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/dunkirk-review-2/) ## The Wrap — Alonso Duralde 20 July 2017. The critic calls it a sensational achievement that marries blockbuster spectacle with subtlety, gripping from the opening and building power through action and implication rather than exposition. They single out the smaller visceral moments, such as cascading leaflets and a downed plane sequence, along with the cast's expressive performances, for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/dunkirk-review-christopher-nolan-tom-hardy-harry-styles/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dunkirk.md