One of the most anticipated films of 2017, Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ was screened to fans and critics last night for the first time – and the first reviews are in.

Starring Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Kenneth Branagh as well as the big screen debut of former One Direction turned solo star Harry Styles, the new World War Two epic tells the story of the allied forces’ struggle to evacuate the beaches of Dunkirk while under attack from enemy fire in May-June 1940.

Now, early viewers of the movie have taken online to share their mostly-glowing reviews. Collider editor Steven Wintraub praised the latest in a series of collaborations between ‘Batman’ director Nolan and movie score legend Hans Zimmer, while also hailing Styles’ performance as ‘great’ and the movie as a whole as ‘edge of your seat film-making’.


Bustle entertainment editor Anna Klassen agreed that Styles ‘does well’ and his performance was ‘surprising’, adding that Dunkirk was ‘truly thrilling from first to last second’.

Check out more reviews and reactions below.

Dunkirk is edge of your seat filmmaking that’s fully realized in @IMAX. Can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. See this in IMAX! pic.twitter.com/7F10lnBB5U — Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) July 10, 2017

A lot of people were wondering about @harry_styles & unknown cast. They’re all great but Dunkirk is not about any one solider. pic.twitter.com/L1mHj1Uwxa — Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) July 10, 2017

Also ‘Dunkirk’ is another brilliant collaboration between Nolan & @HansZimmer. The way he mixes in a ticking clock with score is nail biting pic.twitter.com/3lRSs3upPI — Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) July 10, 2017

DUNKIRK is fantastic. Truly thrilling from first to last second. A heartbreaking, heart-pounding, nail-biting offering. Nolan fans, rejoice. — Anna Klassen (@AnnaJKlassen) July 10, 2017

DUNKIRK relies on v little dialogue, but is entirely impactful. We all know what happened on that beach, but Nolan's take is worth visiting. — Anna Klassen (@AnnaJKlassen) July 10, 2017


And for those asking: Harry Styles does well in DUNKIRK, was pleasantly surprised. — Anna Klassen (@AnnaJKlassen) July 10, 2017

Will also say Harry Styles' DUNKIRK role is surprising… & that's all I can really say. But I applaud Nolan for casting him as he did. — Anna Klassen (@AnnaJKlassen) July 10, 2017

Also think it was smart for Nolan to cast Harry Styles in DUNKIRK simply b/c it brings a possibly younger audience to a very important film. — Anna Klassen (@AnnaJKlassen) July 10, 2017

#Dunkirk is chaotic, relentless, thrilling & one of the most captivating movies you will see this year. A master class in craft. What a ride pic.twitter.com/7PUxG71KKZ — Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) July 10, 2017

From direction to editing to cinematography to score, w/ #Dunkirk Christopher Nolan proves he is one of the great filmmakers of our time — Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) July 10, 2017

https://twitter.com/aliciamalone/status/884458459827245057

Dunkirk is thrilling, beautiful & a must in 70mm IMAX – but it's also hard to ignore that it has zero distinctive personalities/characters. — Eric Eisenberg (@eeisenberg) July 10, 2017

Dunkirk is edge of your seat filmmaking that’s fully realized in @IMAX. Can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. See this in IMAX! pic.twitter.com/7F10lnBB5U — Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) July 10, 2017

Director Christopher Nolan recently compared casting Harry Styles in ‘Dunkirk’ to casting Heath Ledger in ‘The Dark Knight’.

“As a director, I have to trust my instincts, my ability to figure out who’s the right guy for the part. I’m not too worried about baggage,” Nolan told Entertainment Tonight . “I was new to Harry. I mean, I’ve heard his name from my kids, but I wasn’t really familiar with him… What I was seeing [when he auditioned] was a very charismatic guy who clearly had a truthfulness and a subtlety in his ability to perform as a film actor.”

He added: “When I cast Heath Ledger as the Joker [in The Dark Knight], it raised a lot of eyebrows and caused a lot of comment. I have to trust my instincts, and Harry was perfect for this part.”

‘Dunkirk’ is released to cinemas on July 20.