1917

1917 is the latest film by long-time director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) and it's set in a WWI battle-torn France. The movie follows two young British soldiers, Blake and Schofield, that are tasked with a special mission from the General. The mission is to deliver a message and stop about 1,600 fellow soldiers from attacking the fleeing Germans the next morning. The Germans have been planning this false retreat to lure the British soldiers into a death trap. So the two young soldiers are forced to cross through battlefields and enemy territory to save those 1,600 soldiers before the morning comes and they set out to battle, one of those 1,600 soldiers being Blake's older brother. 

The movie starts off in the first 10-15 minutes explaining the situation and setting up the journey the two young men are about to set off on. Right after that, the tension starts off high right away as the movie shows you to the horrors that come with war and the constant fear soldiers face in the battlefields and warzones. Once the tension starts it doesn't go away for the rest of the movie as the two main characters go across different parts of war-torn France. This is all executed masterfully with the mix of great acting, locations, cinematography and epic score. I really felt the fear in the actors as they crossed dangerous territories, and the movie did a good job of making the danger feel real for these characters. It doesn't take long for you to care about the two main characters as the actors do a great job even without a ton of dialog at getting you to connect with them. The fact that you care about them and the importance of their mission are what make the movie work. If you don't care about the characters than the danger they are put in is a lot less effective and dramatic. I was rooting for their success because I cared about the two characters and their mission. 

There's a sequence towards the end of the movie that completely blew me away. It wasn't even anything crazy, but it was the first part of the movie that took place at night. The music was so powerful along with the shots of a war-torn town. The lighting was used so brilliantly and it made the whole scene somehow incredibly beautiful and scary at the same time. It was one of the best things I've seen in a film in a long time. Every bit of this movie was like that though, it was visually stunning and presented War in a really intense and scary way. 

This is the kind of movie that makes for a great theater experience and deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. For the two hour run-time, it keeps you on your toes and invested in the story and characters. Thanks to great performances by everyone involved and a lot of attention to detail by the filmmakers, this is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Definitely go check it out.