The Mission Begins in New “Dunkirk” Trailer

At least for me, one of the most anticipated movies of this summer is Dunkirk, the latest from Christopher Nolan. Every movie the British director has made has been either good and thought-provoking or an all-time great.

His latest is something of a passion project, a World War II epic about one of the smaller moments. The evacuation of Dunkirk was an inspiring story of ordinary heroism. And at least in the U.S., it hasn't been covered in pop culture nearly as much as the Battle of the Bulge, the storming of Normandy, or the Guadalcanal Campaign. Nearly 400,000 Allied soldiers were saved from near-certain death by the Nazis thanks to the hundreds of fishermen and non-military sailors who answered the call to rescue their army.

The film features some of the greatest actors from the UK, including award winners like Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance, as well as some of Nolan's repertory players like Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy. And yes, even heartthrob Harry Styles plays one of the soldiers.

While that might bring some young female Directioners to this World War II drama, people like me who are more interested in gorgeous cinematography are salivating at the fact that much of the film was shot in IMAX, and will play in those theaters, as well as limited 70mm and 35mm engagements.

Dunkirk opens in theaters nationwide on July 21.

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About Kip Mooney

Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.

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