Reviews claiming this movie "greatest WW2 movie" are an absolute nonsense. "Dunkirk" barely qualifies for the genre.

* There is zero land combat between Allied and German forces portrayed in the movie. There is no depiction of tanks, artillery or infantry engaged in hostilities on land. There is a dozen aircraft and ships from the era and what looks like a cast of a few hundred. The movie does not deserve its title. It is in fact an insult to the memory of "Dunkirk", the professional British Soldier, Seaman and Airman, the civilian and merchant crews of the rescuing flotilla, the population of Dunkirk - to all those souls from both sides of the conflict present at Dunkirk late May early June 1940.

* The 2 main characters are cowards. There is a repelling creepiness about their relationship. They don't look or act like professional British soldiers orderly holding on for evacuation rather they act like a pair of modern gender fluid sis males desperately trying to return to their safe space. This is the central story and it is about these 2 cowards deserting their post and using every trick they can think of to push in front of everyone else including the wounded to get aboard a ship home to safety. They even throw their rifles away not long into the movie the gutless scum. They deserved a court-martial sentence to be shot for the selfish, cowardly desertion of their comrades.

If the Allied soldiers had acted this disgracefully the defense and evacuation of Dunkirk could never have taken place and the war lost.

* A "shell shocked" soldier is rescued at sea by a civilian boat crewed by a middle aged gent and two teenage boys. This soldier flies into a rage demanding the boat steer immediately to England and not onto Dunkirk to rescue more men. In this rage he pushes one of the boys down a hatch to a lower deck where the boy strikes his head and dies thus committing murder. However, on return to England he is metaphorically slapped on the back and told "not to worry old chap you are shell shocked so killing innocent people is totally expected of you. Don't you worry yourself we will lie to the authorities and the boys family so you never face justice. Now off you go and have some fun."

* The disgraceful behavior of cowards and and the unlikely, unpleasant murder of a boy are deemed more worthy to depict than the inspiring stories of heroic courage and mateship displayed by the highly trained and experienced professional soldiers these men were. Brave men on the outer defenses and town fought desperately to ensure their comrades safe evacuation. These men knew they faced two possible outcomes - death or capture for the wars duration. The soldiers evacuated would have swapped places with their mates defending the beach without a thought. The movie should be about their valor not the shameful cowardice of deserters or the unlikely actions of a soldier claiming "shell shock".

This is perhaps the most over hyped disgrace of a movie I have seen. It is a shameful disservice to the men that fought at Dunkirk and the brave men in tiny boats that came to their rescue.