Dunkirk Review: 8 Ups & 2 Downs

6. Christopher Nolan's Oscar-Worthy Direction

It's a major point of annoyance among Nolan fans that he hasn't been nominated for a Best Director Oscar despite being arguably worthy for at least The Dark Knight and Inception.

Well, that's probably likely to change with Dunkirk, and while it's in part due to Nolan's maturation as a filmmaker, it's undeniably also because he's tackling a much more Academy-friendly movie this time.

The crusty old Oscar voters don't much care for Batman or sci-fi, but they'll struggle to ignore Nolan's accomplishments in a genre they love. Even if there are complaints to be had about the minimalism of the script, it's very difficult to argue with the technical precision of Nolan's work behind the camera, especially considering how much of the movie was achieved practically.

Most other filmmakers would've taken the cheaper, easier option of CGI, but Nolan persisted with his vision of a more visceral and immersive war movie, and he totally pulled it off.