Blitz

Blitz often feels like a pitched battle between the conventions of big-canvas war recreation and an attempt to evoke the stranger, less obviously narrative-driven chaos that happens when the battlefield descends on a major urban center from the sky.

Blitz knows what it's doing and why, but its compromises may be more self-deceiving than subversive. Cloaking himself more heavily than ever in populist hand-me-downs, McQueen gets swallowed up by his own brilliant disguise.

McQueen, whose unflinching "12 Years a Slave" won Best Picture in 2013, softens his touch a bit here. But his eye is as sharp as ever, and he identifies beauty even in the darkest of spaces...

Blitz is a powerful and somewhat disarming film about the longterm German bombing of London in 1940. Simply put, it is one of the year’s best.


...the Vermeer-like glow that illuminates [Ronan's] face as the camera tracks toward her across the factory floor. McQueen finds beauty in Rita’s resolve.

It is a gripping adventure... not without flaws.

At times Blitz is a notch tropey and wastes a perfectly good Harris Dickinson (Triangle of Sadness) in a pointless role, but the shortcomings are far fewer than the things McQueen gets right.

The epic scope of war is balanced with intimate moments of personal triumph and despair, resulting in a film that resonates both emotionally and historically.

Recreation of the tension, fear, and family separations during the London Blitz in World War II, similar to what is going on today.

George's incredible journey is extremely compelling, as is his mother's determination to find him. This movie is loaded with great performances, compelling narratives and characters. It is about evil, and those who oppose evil, even when all seems lost.