1917

A technical masterpiece

I have been trying to catch up on the December movies, particularly those that were released as "Oscar bait".

At the top of that list was 1917 and after finally carving out time from a busy schedule, I was able to see it.

It tells the simple story of two soldiers in World War I who must go behind enemy lines and deliver a message to their troops on the other side of the war front and prevent a potential disaster.

Nothing new; that’s what a lot of war time movies are about, telling the story of young men during trying times in our history who have gone over and beyond to complete the tasks set out for them.

This is no different. What is different though is how the movie is filmed. It's filmed as a mostly one shot feature (except for one break in the middle) that puts you right in the middle of the action.

You feel every gun shot, every explosion and one sequence at the very end will make you tear up because it puts you in the head of the actor and that moment transcends the movie and becomes purely about a man doing whatever it takes to get to the finish line and get the job done.

That being said, it’s not a movie that makes me sit in contemplation afterwards.

It doesn’t blow me out of the water. That’s the long and short of it and while I can understand the technical praise it’s getting, it isn’t something I would personally consider for Best Picture or Best Director.

This isn’t to downplay what Sam Mendes has done here, but I feel that for a movie to deserve a Best Picture nod, it has to do something that makes me think after I’m done with it.

There are better war movies and war stories out there and this isn’t top three for me. I found the score distracting at times and seeing a certain popular actor sort of took me out of the experience. I’m sure a lot of persons won’t mind this. It was just a bit jarring for me.

The one shot style doesn't come across as a gimmick and it works but it won't elevate the story beyond what it already is.

Final verdict: 7/10