1917 Review: 9 Ups & 1 Down

Roger Deakins is coming for his second Oscar.

By Jack Pooley /

Universal

Sam Mendes' new war epic 1917 is in cinemas now, mere days after it won the Best Picture (Drama) and Best Director awards at the Golden Globes, bolstering its status as a major contender at the incoming Academy Awards.

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But 1917 is far more than a mere Oscar-baiting film: it's a thunderously intense and entirely unique entry into the genre that's rightly scored near-universal critical acclaim.

Quite simply one of the most immersive and stylistically audacious films of its kind, 1917 melds an achingly human - and horrifying - story with cutting-edge technical craftsmanship to deliver a nerve-shredding war movie like no other.

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Though like Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk it ultimately sacrifices a little dramatic meat for its overall spectacle, for the overwhelming majority it's a staggeringly impressive achievement that absolutely begs to be seen and heard on the biggest screen you can find.