Historical events can often serve as a strong basis for grand movie stories, though how well those stories turn out really depends on the skill of the people writing and directing them. You'd think something about the London Blitz—the German bombing campaign that badly damaged the city during World War II—would be handled well. But writer-director Steve McQueen’s film falls short in several areas. The story centers around nine-year-old George (Elliott Heffernan), a sensitive but strong biracial boy who is sent to live with a rural foster family as part of an organized effort to protect children from the bombings. His single mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan), a loving factory worker, wants to keep him safe, but George doesn't want to leave London without her. While on the train taking him away, he jumps off in an attempt to return home. The movie then follows his journey to find his mom, who desperately searches for him amidst the destruction caused by the attacks. It seems like this should be a gripping film, and it is sometimes, but other times it isn’t. This lengthy, episodic story tries too hard to hold viewers' attention by putting the main characters in repeated dangerous situations that mostly just advance the plot without creating much real emotional connection. While the movie does include stories from the Blitz that haven’t been widely told before, as well as touching moments about race relations in Britain at the time—and those are definitely positives—these parts also distract from the larger story and weaken its focus. The film is also held back by issues that often appear in McQueen's movies: unnecessary scenes, segments whose purpose isn’t always clear (particularly when moving between scenes), a need for better editing, and occasionally strange choices in cinematography. “Blitz” is well-made visually, with impressive production design to recreate the period and strong special effects, plus good performances from everyone involved, especially Elliott Heffernan, who earned a Critics Choice Award nomination. But are those qualities enough? Not really, at least not for me. People looking for a better movie about the Blitz should check out John Boorman’s “Hope and Glory” (1987), which is more polished and received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. This isn't a terrible film by any means, but considering what it's about, it really could have been much stronger.

Source on TMDB