This is a spectacle that is the most sublime cinematic experience I can remember since seeing the Holdo manoeuvre for the first time. Visually, it is truly in a league of it's own and I implore you to see this on the big screen if you have any inclination towards seeing it at all. The cinematography is astonishing, as is the sheer scale of set design and world building that has been achieved. The performances are superb, though the writing and plotting feels strangely sparse at times, which is where my only quibble with what is otherwise a masterpiece lies; I've read the book, from which my namesake is derived. Therefore I know all of the minutiae and artistic licences that have been taken. Some of these are entirely understandable and in service of a greater purpose, and some of these are like having a Michelin star meal, then crunching down onto a few grains of sand - may not change the flavour, but it will certainly mar the experience. I could write a thesis on this, but I will simply say that I am going to need time to process what they did and did not do with Alia, and the decisions taken have a profound impact on how the final act lands. This element aside, this is an awe inspiring triumph of cinema that renders on screen sequences beyond what I thought would be possible, and is a testament to what the intersection of technology, artistry, talent, mastery, and money can achieve. 9.31/10