It was, in the words of historian Stephen Ambrose, "undoubtedly the most formidable man-made defense ever contrived".
A first-rate chase thriller it may be, but it's also a long night's journey into day rich in passing social detail; O'Connell, the most formidable leading man to emerge from our shores since Tom Hardy, carries it with terse intensity.
Brain tumors are one of the most formidable diseases of mankind.
He continued, "One of the most prodigious, and perhaps the most formidable of sharks is the man-eater, Carcharodon carcharias.
If you want to see real-life women of a certain age incarnated by the most formidable actresses, then Frears is your man.
A new man, a fresh set of whims may be on the agenda, even while his latest fad, £50m Fernando Torres, struggles for the life and confidence that once made him one of the most formidable strikers in the world.
The most formidable Allied commander of World War II was not British or American but Russian.
He was once described as the most formidable operator on the Dublin political scene, a man who had the antennae to sense looming crises, the expertise to manage the economy, and the savvy to remain Prime Minister for a decade.
It is one of the most formidable demolition jobs one could imagine on a man who has done more to discredit the cause of religion than Rasputin and Pat Robertson put together.
Four bowlers have swept aside some of the world's most formidable batsmen in the past two years.
But in an indication, also, of the concern he raises in the camp of the three-times prime minister, Berlusconi was reported to have opposed the backing of a man he views as being his most formidable future opponent.
