I consider myself an admirer of Steve McQueen’s career, with 12 Years a Slave remaining his magnum opus, reinforcing my personal opinion that he’s stronger as a director than as a screenwriter, given that it’s the only film in which he didn’t contribute to the script. Therefore, my expectations for Blitz were moderately positive. The story follows George (Elliott Heffernan), a nine-year-old boy during World War II in London, sent to safer areas within the country by his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan). Defiant and determined to return home, George embarks on a perilous adventure while his mother desperately searches for him.
Of all historical events and periods, WWII is, by far, the one that has inspired the most movie and television adaptations. While there are still original and innovative narratives to be told, the truth is that most films of this kind fall into a generic cycle of stories about survival, perseverance, and resilience. Blitz fits into this category, delivering powerfully positive messages as expected but failing to develop its characters enough to elicit impactful emotional investment from viewers.
Thematically, McQueen barely scratches the surface of formulaic topics usually explored in scripts of this type, and there are few memorable moments throughout the first two acts, leaving the audience to arrive at a predictable conclusion with little interest in the characters’ fates. Blitz shines in small scenes of pure kindness and in its distinction between “good people” and “bad people” on the same side of the war, but overall, it suffers from a lack of greater depth.
Technically, there’s more to praise though. The production and set design stand out among other departments, with numerous genuinely impressive, immersive sets. Even the visual effects, mostly in the background or behind characters, surprise with some unsettling war imagery, while Yorick Le Saux’s (Little Women) cinematography contributes with some extended sequences featuring continuous camera movements. As for Hans Zimmer’s (Dune: Part Two) score, it’s so understated that I was surprised to see his name in the end credits.
Heffernan is arguably Blitz‘s greatest contribution to the industry. Despite having limited dialogue, the young actor manages to express himself remarkably well for his age, but it’s his physicality that caught my eye, given the number of demanding sequences he had to perform. Among the supporting characters George encounters throughout his journey, Ife stands out thanks to the calm subtlety and total confidence exuded by Benjamin Clementine’s (Dune) performance. Ronan (Lady Bird) is always excellent, but both she and Harris Dickinson (The Iron Claw) are underutilized.
Blitz is technically competent and offers isolated moments of genuine emotion, but it falls short in character development and thematic exploration. Steve McQueen delivers a visually engaging film with a promising central performance by Elliott Heffernan but struggles to escape the cliches of WWII survival narratives. While it doesn’t entirely disappoint, it lacks the emotional depth and originality needed to stand out in an already saturated genre.
