Christopher Nolan is known in the film community for his devotion to large format cinema, often filming parts or all of his films in 70mm or larger.

My daughter [who is 13] and I are both huge fans of Nolan. She claims The Dark Knight as her favourite film of all time and is an aspiring filmmaker. So we have both been waiting for this movie for a long time and are fortunate to have been able to see it in the IMAX format as it was intended.

Now, I would recommend you see the movie in any event – but I’d also advise that you seek it out in the biggest format you can find. The extra screen real estate turns the story into an absolutely immersive experience. As the first few scenes unfolded, I found myself struggling to take it all in – with my eyes scanning each of the shots to take in all of the details and the scope of the goings on. This was most notable during the beach scenes and in the breathtaking aerial combat sequences as well.

I’m not going to break Dunkirk down for you any further, as I’m sure if you’re interested you’ve already seen it or at least know all about it. Nolan fans will not be disappointed as many of his trademarks are in place – the eerie soundtrack [in this case punctuated by the ticking of a clock], the impeccable casting [and yes, Michael Caine sneaks in] and of course the desire to play with traditional time keeping to enhance the narrative [like Memento, Inception and Interstellar].

The hype has died down a bit as well around the concept that this is Nolan’s best-ever film. For me, it’s not. But it’s a powerful war film without being bloody or even really seeing much of the antagonists. It is intentionally bereft of much dialogue, which in turn amplifies the powerful visuals.

This is not one of those films that you will ‘catch later on Netflix’, not if you have any passion for cinema, at least. So go find the biggest, loudest screen you can and enjoy!