“Dunkirk” (**1/2 out of four) was a sporadically effective recreation of the fierce WWII battle in which allied soldiers (Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, and others) from Belgium, France, and England were surrounded by German soldiers and faced certain death. Director Christopher Nolan ably replicates the aerial battles and some hair-raising moments of terror in battle but it never gathers much momentum and gets going. Well-made but lacking in character dimension of other war classics like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Platoon” which gives film an overall sense of aloofness. Excellent music score by Hans Zimmer