London Film Festival 2024: First Reactions to Steve McQueen’s BLITZ

Courtesy Apple Studios

The BFI London Film Festival kicks off today, and the big world premiere is Steve McQueen’s BLITZ, which will launch in US theaters in limited release on November 1st, 2024, before making its streaming debut on Apple TV+ on November 22nd, 2024.

Steve McQueen’s Blitz follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy in World War II London whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George, defiant and determined to return home to his mom and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller) in East London, embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril, while a distraught Rita searches for her missing son.

Written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award-winning McQueen, the film stars Academy and BAFTA Award nominee Ronan and newcomer Heffernan, with Harris Dickinson, Benjamin Clementine, Kathy Burke, Weller, Stephen Graham, Leigh Gill, Mica Ricketts, CJ Beckford, Alex Jennings, Joshua McGuire, Hayley Squires, Erin Kellyman and Sally Messham rounding out the cast.

Here are the first reactions and reviews of the film:

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'Blitz' Review: A Solid Saoirse Ronan but Steve McQueen's WWII Story Feels Too Tidy by @ianamurray #LFF2024 #LFF https://t.co/yILLwtuiuT

— Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) October 9, 2024

'Blitz' Review: Saoirse Ronan in Steve McQueen's Admirably Crafted but Overly Clichéd Tribute to London's Survival in World War II https://t.co/WiAFG6JsT8

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 9, 2024

'Blitz' Review: Saoirse Ronan Adds Fire To Steve McQueen's Powerful British WWII Drama Focused On The Human Price Of War - London Film Festival https://t.co/eIO0VtkMCx

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) October 9, 2024

Blitz review – Steve McQueen’s rousing wartime adventure is surprisingly old-fashioned https://t.co/b18qYNjem2

— Guardian culture (@guardianculture) October 9, 2024

'Blitz' London Review: Steve McQueen’s weighty wartime drama starring Saoirse Ronan opens the London Film Festival. #LFF2024 review by Fionnuala Halligan. https://t.co/4v6mWnc0aW

— Screen International (@Screendaily) October 9, 2024

'Blitz' Review: Steve McQueen's World War II Film Is Skillful and Touching Yet Almost Shockingly Conventional https://t.co/p5Q9ErFqjN

— Variety (@Variety) October 9, 2024

Steve McQueen’s Blitz was good but not great. While there is plenty to praise; performances, production design, sound and score - I found the tone quite jumbled. It oscillates between cutesy-wootsie sugariness and utterly devastating. At times it felt a little too Dickensian for… pic.twitter.com/W47DcvNn30

— Luke Hearfield @ LFF 🎥🍿 (@LukeHearfield) October 9, 2024

Steve McQueen keeps outdoing himself: BLITZ is PHENOMENAL. A beautiful gut punch of an historical epic.

McQueen takes pages from Spielberg, Dickens and Irwin Allen and makes a film that's distinctly his own.

My review is at @TheWrap! https://t.co/u4q6KkYyzH

— William Bibbiani (@WilliamBibbiani) October 9, 2024

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Here’s the film’s official US trailer: