1917 Is Rubbish. A Great Technical Achievement But A Terrible Movie

Whilst 1917 is a technical masterpiece in its execution, It still doesn’t stop the obvious fact here.

Yes, I said it. A film that will win awards left right and centre at every award ceremony this season is actually, well, awful.

Hollywood’s next war movie instalment is about as soulless and dull as Dunkirk before it.

I’ve highlighted Dunkirk for a very specific reason as if you click that blue link to Nick Clement’s review he gives it 4 out of 5 stars.

But notice the title. A great ‘Technical’ achievement. There isn’t much written about anything else other than how it looks and that’s the kicker!

Whilst visually stunning and made to look as thou it was shot in one take (it wasn’t) the rest of the film is a bit of a dull affair on a mundane mission of mediocre execution.

If this piece focused on the visuals alone. The long extended shots to amp tension, the beautifully executed direction in which the story seems to progress in real-time then I’d be praising it till the cows come home.

But step aside from behind the magic of how the film looks and plays out and we have a Ford Mustang.

Incredibly stylish and beautiful on the outside but cheap plastic tat on the inside.

The camera gimmick starts to wear thin after a while. To the point where you’re not focusing on the story at hand.

You’re focusing on just how long you’re forced to stare at one particular scene or how much of this virtual war tour you’re undertaking.

It’s like going on a school trip to a pencil museum. You’re out of school and getting the day off but you’re forced to look at something so dull you long to be back in the classroom working again.

To have a movie strip away its characters, its script, its reason for existing to be replaced with a camera test seems wasted.

A whole feature made to push a technical aspect alone and nothing more.

We are introduced to two soldiers at the start of the movie who we find out next to nothing about the entire film.

We’re somehow supposed to care about what happens to them without any knowledge of them whatsoever? I certainly didn’t.

The long drawn out scenes had many of us in the theatre very bored indeed. There was no tension or build-up of any kind.

A great musical score couldn’t even save this lacklustre affair.

The film drops a bomb now and again just to keep us awake it feels.

Cameos from Colin Firth, Mark Strong, and Benedict Cumberbatch serve no real purpose. They do however inject some life on screen when they appear.

The stars leave just as quickly as they enter and the simplistic mission continues. A simplistic mission to feed our simplistic audience (sorry).

Overall

1917 may appeal to many, but we’re always so easily impressed by things nowadays.

We’re slowly becoming moths to bright lights and clapping our hands in admiration at technique and appearance rather than substance.

Our swipe right generation of taking things at face value without regard to digging underneath the surface.

A sad, sad day indeed and the fact remains.

1917 is rubbish.