1917 Cast: George MacKay, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden

Audiences may be forgiven for thinking the story of 1917 sounds familiar. After all, it is similar to that of the extraordinary Australian World War 1 movie Gallipoli with Mel Gibson.

Deep in the French enemy territory during World War 1, private Schofield and private Blake from the British Army are tasked with delivering a message to 1600 soldiers who are about to walk directly into a deadly trap. The gimmick here is that the movie looks as if it has been filmed in one take.

Director Sam Mendes ( American Beauty and Skyfall) and 14-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins have choreographed a stunning achievement of cinema, highlighting the barbaric nature of war and the toll it took on a generation.

With a cast made up of popular actors and newcomers, 1917 is a movie that, like Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, demands to be experienced on a big screen.