The mighty Jason Statham carves his way through London’s seedy underbelly in this—oh, hang on, that”s the other one.
How to watch Blitz in New Zealand
Blitz is now streaming in New Zealand on Apple TV+.
Blitz (2024)
What is Blitz about?
Not to be confused with the 2011 action thriller of the same name, this WWII period drama comes to us from director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, Widows) and is the sort of chilldren’s adventure we used to get on the reg. Think The Railway Children and you’re in the right ballpark—or perhaps cricket pitch, as this is set in 1940s Britain.
Our plucky young hero is London-born George, who is separated from his family when he’s evacuated, like so many children were at the time, to the countryside once the Nazis start bombing the living hell out of the capital.
Rather than sit out the war (or slip through a handy portal to Narnia) George resolves to make his way back home and to the loving embrace of his munitions factory worker mum. And so we proceed from there. But little George is biracial: his dad, now absent, was from Grenada, so expect some pointed commentary on how issues of race factored into the ol’ Blitz Spirit.
The cast of Blitz
Elliott Heffernan, here making his filmic debut, is George. He’s supported by a wealth of familiar faces including Saoirse Ronan as Rita, his mum; Harris Dickinson as Jack, a fireman with a crush on Rita; Benjamin Clementine as Nigerian ARP warden Ife; Kathy Burke as Beryl; Stephen Graham as Albert; and, wonderfully, The Jam’s Paul Weller, also making his first screen acting appearance as Gerald, George’s grandfather. Now that’s entertainment.
Blitz trailer
Why we’re excited about Blitz
A rousing, socially conscious, boys’ own adventure set against the backdrop of World War II from one of the best directors currently working? How could we not be? Could have used more Statham, though.
