(1) Nolan structure: Non-linear narrative is the characteristic of Nolan's movies, and it is also a place where fans talk about it. He often uses multi-line narrative and even time reverses. Narrative way to describe a story. If this kind of narrative method is used to shoot science fiction or suspense films, it may achieve unexpected results. The success of "Inception" and "Interstellar Crossing" precisely illustrates this point. But using this kind of narrative method to graft on an epic war film, it is easy to make people look awkward. The story of the whole film is very simple. It depicts the story of the retreat of the British and French forces in Dunkirk during World War II. Nolan used three different angles of land, sea and air to shoot, and the time of these three lines is one week and one day. And one hour. Some viewers really like this three-line narrative shooting method, but I really don't like this kind of "Inception" to shoot war films. For example, when the army scene was about to reach its climax, it suddenly switched to the air force, and the switching frequency of the whole film was very frequent and intensive, making it easy for people to see the drama. In addition, the time inside is not synchronized. When you see the Army here is at night, when you switch to the Air Force, it becomes morning. When the audience doesn't figure out the meaning of "one hour, one day, one week" in the front, they will be confused, and even if they understand it, they will easily feel messy. Generally speaking, as an ordinary audience, I often have to figure out Nolan's complicated and fancy narrative structure and cannot indulge in the story of the movie. I don't object to Nolan's attempt to use this format to shoot war films, but I have to tell the story before using it.
(2) Weak plot: Some people say that "Dunkirk" is a war film comparable to "Saving Private Ryan" and can be included in the classics of film history. I think this is a bit too much. At most it is a war version of escape room. Nolan clearly portrays the oppression and tension in the war through this film, but it is a pity that the thin plot and character portrayal are difficult to integrate into. The minimalist dialogue and lack of plotting make the characterization a little pale and make the story content of the three lines seem impoverished. Even if you see a soldier being killed, it is difficult for you to feel compassion. On the whole, there are no impressive images and thought-provoking content, nor does it show the kind of compassion in war and the relationship between war and people like Spielberg. It's the story of the old civilian shipowner and his son that makes people see the helplessness of the war, but that's all.
(3) Tired soundtrack bombing: I think it can be seen from "The Dark Knight Rises" that Nolan is actually very weak in control of that kind of big scene. And this shortcoming is magnified in Dunkirk. It would be disappointing if the audience watched a war film like "Blood War Hacksaw Ridge" and pursued that kind of graphic and visual shock. The war scenes in the film are very neat and clean, without the chaos, blood and dirt in the war. In order to make up for this embarrassment and create that kind of "tension" and "shock", we can only rely on the soundtrack of Uncle Lonely. The atmosphere created by Uncle Lonely was pretty good at the beginning, but this kind of uninterrupted, intensive, soundtrack bombardment from beginning to end, and forced reliance on the sensation and tension created by the soundtrack made people feel nauseous. Although the gunshots and the sound effects of the aircraft engines are excellent, they can't save the exhaustion caused by the intensive soundtrack of the whole play.
Nolan, who has never disappointed before, may be disappointing this time.
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