Review of Allied (2016) by Ryan C — 04 Dec 2016

If "Casablanca" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" had a baby, it would be "Allied." In another WWII film starring Brad Pitt, "Allied" has an intriguing plot and a few exciting moments, but it ultimately doesn't live up to its potential.

This wartime romance film features two agents Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) and Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) who are charged with assassinating the German Ambassador to Morocco. After that job, they head to England together with plans to marry after becoming romantically involved in Morocco. However, there is still an hour and half left of the film, so there has to be a catch. The head of "V," a section of the British military, tells Vatan that they believe his wife is a spy for Germany and that she took the identity of the real Marianne Beausejour. The remainder of the film is about Vatan's mission in finding out if his wife is a Nazi spy or not; and killing her if she is.

While Pitt and Cotillard both normally give knockout performances, their characters seem flat and barely relatable in this film. Their relationship seems forced with a stone-hearted solider easily falling for a beautiful and deadly French agent all within in a short period of time. Director Robert Zemeckis does a great job introducing the characters and their first hit job, but after that when it turns into a romance movie, is where his creativity and direction start to diminish. However, what is impressive is the ability to recreate the time period with costumes and set pieces and the audience does easily get sucked into that era.

"Allied" had a lot of potential, but with the lack of chemistry between its two big leads, forced story arcs, and a questionable ending, this film is an OK addition to its genre.