1917

THE GIST: As WWI drags on, two British soldiers are sent deep into enemy territory on foot to alert a regiment that the assault they're preparing to make is nothing but a trap laid by the Germans. They only have a few hours and a lot of terrain to cover, so it's a race against time.

One of the best movies of last year, or any year really, 1917 is also one of the best war-themed movies I've ever seen.

It doesn't have enormous battle scenes or scores of soldiers clashing on the battlefield, but its impact is immense.

One key aspect of the movie is that it's filmed in what looks like a continuous shot, beginning to end. While at first I feared this might make for a boring experience, I came to view it as a strong element of what makes the movie so unique, special and, above all, tense.

Unlike the "gimmick" of the anti-aging process of The Irishman, which was more of a distraction than anything else, the continuous shot really allows the audience to feel immersed in the action and to experience the movie as closely as possible to what the actors were experiencing. Absolutely genial.

In lead roles, George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman are both very good, as is the rest of the cast. Thomas Newman's score is also fantastic.

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you like the genre, don't miss it, but this is really a great movie for anyone, as long as you're not prone to bouts of anxiety.

Grade: 9