Review: 1917

[number six]

We've been seeing the hype train for this movie for about a month. I was a bit apprehensive about it given I wasn't overly thrilled by either of Sam Mendes' last 2 James Bond movies but its January so you take chances.

As the massive amounts of marketing suggest this is a World War 1 film revolving around 2 soldiers tasked with venturing behind enemy lines to deliver an important message. The film appears to take inspiration from Gallipoli and more modern war movies such as Saving Private Ryan but it definitely carves out it's own style.

The real star of the film is tension. Man does this movie know how to keep you on the edge of your seat. It's an intense ride that never really lets up. There's a gimmick at play here where the entire movie is presented as one-shot. It's of course not really one-shot, that would have been impossible in a film like this.. so digital trickery and editing were employed but it works. I thought it would be distracting but it's not and gives the film a sense of happening in 'real-time' which only helps to amp up the tension.

One thing I did like about Mendes' Bond films were they looked good and the same can be said about 1917, it's beautifully shot. The acting is also all great and you do get very invested. If there's a complaint it's that it does use a few war movie cliches' at times but nothing that takes away from the film and I suppose that sort of thing can be hard to completely avoid.

So yes, this movie is great. The hype is apparently worth it in this case. Easy recommendation as it's definitely the best movie I've seen in 2020 (har har) but seriously it's good. There is one caveat.. this movie is a fairly intense experience. If you don't like war movies with the horrors and all intact you may not like this one either. It doesn't have quite the gory battle scenes that Ryan did but it will make you squirm a few times.

[RussG]

I saw it last night as well and enjoyed it.

The initial front line travel was really dreary and the filming epitomized what it would be like to be in that atmosphere.
It was a very well done movie.
Good review as always, Jack.

[number six]

I saw it last night as well and enjoyed it.

The initial front line travel was really dreary and the filming epitomized what it would be like to be in that atmosphere.
It was a very well done movie.
Good review as always, Jack.

It does have a very apocalyptic feel to it which in this case was totally appropriate.

World War 1 was brutal, especially the trench warfare. Apparently in some cases dead bodies were left on the battlefield for years because it wasn't possible to retrieve them. Talk about stalemates. Must have been horrific.

[Niloc]

Good review, I will definitely check this one out.

WWI movies generally interest me, I think maybe just due to the sheer volume of movies/books/games there are on WWII. WWI seems almost forgotten by comparison.

Peter Jackson's documentary about WWI "They Shall Not Grow Old" was pretty good too.

[number six]

Good review, I will definitely check this one out.

WWI movies generally interest me, I think maybe just due to the sheer volume of movies/books/games there are on WWII. WWI seems almost forgotten by comparison.

Peter Jackson's documentary about WWI "They Shall Not Grow Old" was pretty good too.

Thanks for reminding me about They Shall Not Grow Old, I was interested in that but never did see it. I'll go check it out.

Yeah World War 1 is definitely not up to the same levels of representation of other wars. Obviously there's so much more going on with WWII, more diverse theaters, etc. plus WWII was one of the few conflicts were it was Good vs. Evil.. who can beat the Nazis in terms of villain power? So it just captures the imagination more. There are some good WWI movies out there but it's a lot more scarce. They got a great kick off with All Quiet on the Western Front and the surprisingly good silent flick Wings (both pre-code with lots of gore and some nudity even!) but the memorable ones have been few and far between.

The last big budget one was what? War Horse? That was OK but not really that memorable.

I'd really like to see a big budget Biplane flick at this point. With decent CGI that should be really thrilling. No more George Peppard with a blue backgrop and some engine noises ala The Blue Max.

[ibis]

Really looking forward to seeing this movie!  Thanks for the review Jack, makes me want to see it even more now!

[ibis]

Saw it, loved it!!  MOAR movies made like this please!

[PinPup]

One on my list to see, review confirms it.

[Weeze]

you guys do good reviews, but need to see more of a "Mystery Science" type of review on something more dung worthy, say the new "Midway". Ive only seen a trailer and only saw it once, and it looked truly Le Merde for sure!
 OK carry on.