I give this 4 💣 out of five.

Some may liken or compare this to the 1981 Australian film, GALLIPOLI, which also happens to be about 2 young soldiers facing impossible odds of survival in WWI, however, I think to do so is unfair.

Each film, in my humble opinion, completely stands alone. And stand tall they do. Stay tuned for my retrospective review of GALLIPOLI to be posted shortly.

1917:  With gripping intensity from the very outset, you are taken on a thoroughly anxious race against time and against all odds and you will be on the edge of your seat until the very end.  At the end, you will then be exhausted and realise you've been holding your breath for nearly 2 hours.

I'm not sure why the film gained an MA15+ raiting here, as it certainly is nowhere near as graphic as other war films I've seen (think SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and ENEMY AT THE GATES and PLATOON).  But don't be mistaken, it's no picnic, there are the horrors and injuries of war on screen, but in my view they are milder by comparison to others, not overly graphic,  and I would say an M rating is sufficient.

Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch fans NEED TO KNOW:  They are both literally only in one scene each. I repeat: one scene each.  And as such to use their names as drawcards on posters and trailers is downright misleading.

Briefly, the plot is this:  2 young and enthusiastic allied (British) soldiers (Lance Corporals Schofield and Blake) are tasked with travelling alone (but for each other) deep into German enemy territory to deliver a message to the "Devons" unit (a 1600 strong English battalion).  The message is a matter of life and death: their planned attack on the Germans must not go ahead, as it is a devious trap set by the Germans.  If the message if not delivered and the British battalion attacks, it is likely the entire British Devons battlion will be wiped out by the much stronger German side.  In the Devons unit is Blake's older brother and as such Blake junior is determined to complete his mission...

There has been much praise for the score, earning Thomas Newman many award nominations, including a BAFTA and Golden Globe, however, I feel it is too heavy handed on occasion and certain scenes would have been better served by softer, more haunting notes, rather than the great crescendos used far to often in my humble opinion.

Many will recognise Dean-Charles Chapman (Blake) as Tommen from GoT who was convincing and endearing as the young, compassionate and idealistic Blake and I hope to see a lot more of him.  The more experienced, George MacKay, also did a superb job in his role as the hardened realist and stiff-upper-lipped soldier, Schofield. Neither have scored any award nominations for their roles (to the best of my knowledge age the time or writing this), but I hope that changes as awards season continues.

All praise to Sam Mendes (Dir) and Roger Deakins (Cin) and not to be left out the rest of the cast and crew, particularly production design and art directors.  The accomplished Lee Smith (Ed) knows what he is doing and 1917's editing is no exception.

Ultimately, I loved this film and can highly recommend.

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