Wow, what a missed opportunity! Writer/director Steve McQueen’s promised epic Blitz (C) contains many stunning crafts, lush cinematography and powerful sound but is largely hollow at the center with generally passive primary characters not given much to do. With a WWII backdrop of air raids in 1940 England, a mother (Saoirse Ronan) and her biracial son (Elliot Heffernan) are separated, and a variety of Dickensian episodes take place as collective hopes of them being reunited are protracted. Ronan has rarely had such a minor performance, with little set-up to earn all the feels. The script does newcomer Heffernan little favors, a shame since his is a POV rarely described in history nor depicted on film. Harris Dickinson appears briefly with little to do; thankfully another supporting actor Benjamin Clementine gets some tender moments as a kindly Nigerian law enforcement officer mentoring the lost child. An opening sequence of fire hoses tangled like dueling snakes and a mid-movie moment with disaster in a nightclub seem to portend a stronger narrative impact, but most of the film simply feels old-fashioned and rote. There are near-musical numbers with little lift and a flood that looks like it was filmed in the bygone Catastrophe Canyon of Disney parks. This glimpse into history doesn’t live up to the creativity or vision from McQueen’s previous works or build on the template of Hope & Glory or Empire of the Sun; it’s a rare misstep from the auteur, lacking intended immersion and emotion.