The new trailer for the World War One Epic, 1917, just dropped, and I’m all here for this. This movie really got my attention when I started seeing a few articles over the last week confirming that this is going to be done in what seems like one long shot with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins behind the lens. Deakins, for me, is right up there on the Mount Rushmore of cinematographers. His only superior may be Emmanuel Lubezki, who’s recent feats have been the likes of Birdman (2014) or The Revenant (2015) which both seemed like films containing one continuous shot with no break.

Colin Firth, sends two young British soldiers on a mission to warn of an ambush, in which 1,600 of their men could die. One of these soldiers is played by Dean-Charles Chapman, who also played Tommen Baratheon in Game of Thrones. I don’t want to sound too harsh, but he was by far the worst actor on the show and unbearably annoying. But maybe he was meant to be annoying and is actually a great actor. What do I know?

We also get a glimpse of Benedict Cumberbatch who’s rocking a gnarly scar of his eye and has a well combed stache. And then we get ‘From the Director of Skyfall….’ to which I just rolled my eyes. Sam Mendes directs this film and is apparently using stories from his Grandfather as inspiration for this film. I’m not the biggest fan of Mendes’ previous films such as Spectre (2015) or American Beauty (1999). The former being straight trash.

Having said all of that, however, visually – this could be something special. The set design and the colour pallets seen in this trailer look crisp and noice. Also, I’m just a big sucker for war films like this. So I’m seeing this as soon as it comes out. Dunkirk (2017) was one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve had in recent years, and I even loved Steven Spielberg’s soppy Warhorse (2011). For my love of the genre alone, it’s hard not to buy into this.

I want to go on record now and say how I think this will be a good film, but mainly for the spectacle and the technical mastery. If I had to bet on it now, I’m not confident in the actual plot nor am I enthused by the apparent lead actors. But I will go into this with an open mind and hope to have a good time.

Closing thought: at 1:14, we see these two guys have taken a page out of the Prometheus (2012) leaflet on how to run away from things. Take a step to the left or right man!