It was supposed to be a slam ‘dunk’ but I’m more ‘irk’ed!

History has one spectacular story. Writer/Director Christopher Nolan gums it up by knitting three together like a loosely woven afghan throw with holes everywhere. Give me Occam’s Razor and CUT! That is, if there are many ways to explain something, the simplest one is usually better. “Dunkirk” is not that.

Yes, I see the inspiration of Winston Churchill’s policy speech,
“… It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air …”

But such an endeavor best benefits from a coherent plan, which this filmmaker did not create for me. A one-hour air battle flits on and off the screen throughout the week-long land effort and ends disjointedly. The seagoing story is by far the best component, which I would allow four stars if amplified to the magnitude it merits.

I’m happy this story gets told, and the timing of releases that pairs it with “The Darkest Hour.” I’m the outlier who doesn’t like this particular rendition.

*(star) rating in the title is mine; e.g. 7*=Seven Stars (maximum 10)