1917

From the sole perspective of the filmmaking craft, "1917" is worth a watch.

It's a tense, unnerving ride that accomplishes its goal of translating the first-person experience of war better than any war movies that have come before it. It's a level up.

The action is swift and heart-pounding.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen.

When it was being shot only a year ago, 1917 was a phenomenal tribute to a generation almost wiped out in the trenches of World War I. At the moment of release, it has become more timely.

Technical brio, however, cannot redeem all that is callow and crass in Mendes's movie: the dialogue is pure placeholder stuffing, the approach a clumsy collision of the Assassin's Creed video games and Elem Klimov's Come and See...

While Mendes didn't shrink from displaying the vivid imagination of a suburban horndog, he's unwilling to face the imagination of the valorous combatants of "1917."

Yet the tale unfolds with considerable sensitivity, offering plenty of haunting images while capturing the chaos and fear of trench warfare -- especially through the eyes of MacKay, in a genuine breakout performance.

War is much on the minds of people right now, and "1917" is a good reminder, flaws and all, of what that really entails.

Union general William Tecumseh Sherman once said, "War is hell." Sam Mendes with "1917" says, "Hold my beer."

This is a tremendous technical achievement and I was just dazzled the whole time.

Despite the film's salient features, "1917" feels oddly underwhelming. It might succeed in making viewers as exhausted as the characters, but it lacks the emotional punch this story requires to make it a lasting impact.

Sam Mendes, has similarly taken top technology - and the best cinematography - to give us a different, equally compelling look at that cruel war, through the eyes of two ordinary soldiers asked to perform an extraordinary task.

However well-intentioned its spectacle, 1917 feels fundamentally wrong-disrespectful to a historical reality in its very attempts to evoke it.

Many films claim to be immersive but this one genuinely is. It was inspired by the stories Mendes heard from his grandfather, a combat veteran. The younger man has done his family proud, and given us one of the finest films of 2019.

Sitting through it is like watching someone else playing a video game for two solid hours, and not an especially compelling one at that.

You get a sense of what it was like in the trenches in World War I.

MacKay and Chapman disappear into their roles, pulling us into the story.

Mendes has made a film that feels wholly alive. It's a carefully polished picture, not one that strives for gritty realism. But its inherent devotion to life and beauty is part of its power...

The movie never breaks its rules and never loses sight of its objective.