Reviewers are already praising director Sam Mendes' WWI movie, 1917 - and some are calling it the best war film since Saving Private Ryan.

The film, which stars George MacKay, Dean Charles-Chapman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden, Adam Scott, Mark Strong, and Colin Firth, takes place in the trenches of the Western Front in the middle of the First World War.

Filmed as one continuous shot, it tells the story of a pair of British soldiers who are sent to cross enemy territory and deliver an urgent message to an embattled battalion to prevent them from walking into an ambush - a battalion that includes the brother of one of the soldiers. Their mission takes them through one of the most brutal theatres of combat in human history.

Commenting on the movie in a recent interview with Inverse, Mendes stated: "I never thought of it as a war movie. It adheres more to the structure of a thriller. All good war movies are scary, but not for the same reasons that horror movies are scary. I think it’s a classic ticking clock mission movie. You know, it’s not a combat film. It’s not an eat your peas historical war lesson. It’s a ride."

Meanwhile, co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns stated: "There’s no jump scares, but it’s about delivering a message against the clock. So it’s really a thriller. It’s a race against time. The fact that is in World War I is just this amazing backdrop to say something about duty and honor and sacrifice."

Check out the social media buzz for the new movie below:

Reviewers are already praising director Sam Mendes' WWI movie, 1917 - and some are calling it the best war film since Saving Private Ryan.

The film, which stars George MacKay, Dean Charles-Chapman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden, Adam Scott, Mark Strong, and Colin Firth, takes place in the trenches of the Western Front in the middle of the First World War.

Filmed as one continuous shot, it tells the story of a pair of British soldiers who are sent to cross enemy territory and deliver an urgent message to an embattled battalion to prevent them from walking into an ambush - a battalion that includes the brother of one of the soldiers. Their mission takes them through one of the most brutal theatres of combat in human history.

Commenting on the movie in a recent interview with Inverse, Mendes stated: "I never thought of it as a war movie. It adheres more to the structure of a thriller. All good war movies are scary, but not for the same reasons that horror movies are scary. I think it’s a classic ticking clock mission movie. You know, it’s not a combat film. It’s not an eat your peas historical war lesson. It’s a ride."

Meanwhile, co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns stated: "There’s no jump scares, but it’s about delivering a message against the clock. So it’s really a thriller. It’s a race against time. The fact that is in World War I is just this amazing backdrop to say something about duty and honor and sacrifice."

Check out the social media buzz for the new movie below: