Producer Warner Bros. Pictures recently hosted advance screenings for the Christopher Nolan-directed film "Dunkirk" which were met with favorable reviews. Here is what some of them had to say.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews stated, "This accomplished, exceptional piece of cinema delivers summer-scale spectacle, albeit without the escapism audiences often crave from blockbuster releases at this time of the year."

The film currently has a 96 percent rating on RottenTomatoes which makes it one of the highest rated movies for the summer. Some critics believe this is Nolan's chance to get an Oscar for his work on "Dunkirk."

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote:

"From first frame to last, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is a monumental achievement, a World War II epic of staggering visual spectacle (see it in IMAX if you can) that hits you like a shot in the heart."

The film recounts the events that happened during World War II in Dunkirk, France where Allied soldiers from Britain, Belgium, Canada and France were surrounded by German soldiers and could not escape. This prompted Operation Dynamo in which a daring rescue at Dunkirk took place between May 26 and June 3 in 1940. The aim of the rescue was to evacuate around 40,000 troops under attack.

Chris Stuckmann lauded, "Nolan crafts a frighteningly realistic portrayal of the Allied soldiers' evacuation, with some of the best aerial dogfights ever put to screen."

The war-time fight scenes were praised by critics as being realistic without heavy special effects that most summer movies have today.

Nolan's other film credits are "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises." He also received two Oscar nominations for "Inception" and another for "Memento."

The war film stars Tom Hardy from "Mad Max: Fury Road" and Mark Rylance from "Bridge of Spies." Among the stars are newcomers Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney and Jack Lowden.

"Dunkirk" arrives in theaters on July 21.