'Dunkirk' proves Christopher Nolan can master emotional material

There are usually two types of war films. The first kind focuses on how war dehumanizes everyone involved and is ultimately a tragic waste of human life.

The second pays homage to heroism in the face of insurmountable odds.

Dunkirk, the fantastic new movie from director Christopher Nolan manages to deftly do both with a narrative that is stark and simple, yet told with epic scale.

The knock on Nolan up until now has largely been that while he is a master craftsman his films can lack heart. I think the criticism has been overstated, but it's clear that with his last film -- the sci-fi melodrama Interstellar -- he was attempting to counter those criticisms by making a story steeped in more emotion.

However, where that film fell a little short for me, Dunkirk soars -- literally. From the very opening shot Nolan tightens the screws of tension and creates a remarkable atmosphere of dread mixed with excitement. I know Nolan is a champion of staging as much in camera as possible, with practical effects, but I can't for the life of me figure out how he made this picture,

The stakes are enormous. Thousands of British soldiers (who are desperately needed for fights to come) are stranded on a beach with virtually no air support, making them sitting ducks for German bombers swooping overhead. The only hope they have are courageous civilians who ventured out in their own vessels to save them.

It's an incredible story, one I must admit I was ignorant of before I saw this film, but it only works because Nolan fills almost every frame with something compelling to watch, while infusing the whole movie with a really well-earned compassion.

This is a movie that sneaks up on you emotionally. It is in many ways a tribute to the indomitable, can-do spirit of the British, but it never is overly sentimental. The film is mostly stocked with unknowns (although Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Branagh are all terrific in small, supporting roles) and it doesn't spend a lot of time with deep character development.

This is a film that's power is derived from its theme and it's almost unbearable tension. I had the unique pleasure of watching the movie in IMAX where its breathtaking aerial sequences make you feel like you're piloting a fighter plane yourself, and when soldiers face rising water in a sinking ship, you can't help but hold your breath.

But this is not simply a summer rollercoaster ride. Nolan has made his most personal film here. There were traces of his fascination with sacrifice and the will to "do what's right" in his Batman films and to a lesser extent in Insomnia, and it's front and center here.

Nolan has revealed himself at long last to be a pure humanist, someone with an old fashioned sense of honor and duty that doesn't feel dated at all but, especially now, vital.

Dunkirk is easily one of my favorite films I've seen this year. It's a special movie. One that will stick with you and leave you shaken and stirred.