Title – Blitz (2024) 

Director – Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) 

Cast – Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan, Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clémentine, Stephen Graham 

Plot – Set during the bombing raids on London in World War 2 at the hand of the Nazi regime, Blitz follows the story of young boy George (Heffernan) who is separated from his loving mother Rita (Ronan) setting in path a journey to find his way back to her through all the chaos going on around him.  

“Why can’t you tell me, where’s my boy?”

Review by Eddie on 08/01/2025

In a so far storied career behind the camera in the feature film landscape, Apple original Blitz stands out amongst the crowd as director Steve McQueen’s biggest failure to launch yet. 

Arriving on the scene with the critically acclaimed arthouse offering Hunger in the late 2000’s and moving into award winners Shame and 12 Years a Slave in the years following, McQueen quickly established himself as one of the most interesting voices in Hollywood but sadly Blitz has none of the magic or smarts that made those films stand out, despite it harbouring many of the themes and DNA of McQueen’s best works. 

As is to be expected from an Apple original, Blitz has the budget and the means to become a standout offering, following the adventures of Elliot Heffernan’s young boy George who is on a quest to get back to his mother Rita, played by an as per usual committed Saoirse Ronan, in the midst of the German bombing raids on London in World War 2 but this Empire of the Sun (mixed oddly enough with a strange Oliver Twist like detour) is a messy and uninvolving experience that finds McQueen lost at sea with no where to dock.

Attempting to make commentary on race relations, World War 2 explorations, childhood experiences through trauma/coming of age dramatics and even McQueen’s love of Jazz, Blitz is a lot of things across its two hour runtime but none of the elements or thematic material feels fleshed out or well-rounded with McQueen not only losing himself in the directors chair but in the writers department as well, failing to establish Blitz’s footing in any particular way, making this journey an extremely uneven one. 

Throughout the journey of young George across the English countryside, the underbelly of a traumatised London and the quiet family life between him and his mother there’s some serious talent that McQueen is working with in front of the camera but no one is able to be fleshed out in a meaningful way with Harris Dickinson as a hapless solider the very definition of an unneeded character while Stephen Graham as a Fagen like criminal known as Albert helps ensure Blitz has it’s fair share of random interludes. 

All adding up to be an extremely frustrating experience, there’s countless elements of Blitz that showcase a what might have been scenario for this tale that has merit as both a child like lens examination of a key moment of time of British and World War 2 history but on final delivery Blitz finds McQueen in a curious career moment that seems to suggest the once masterful filmmaker is in need of a good quality reset and re-examination before his next project gets underway.  

Final Say – 

Another poor final use of Apple’s significant budget commitments to original content, Blitz is a choppy and unfocussed attempt to make a World War 2 film with a difference, failing its cast of talented performers and eager viewers with a final product that is a bitter disappointment. 

1 1/2 live radio broadcasts out of 5