Review of Allied (2016) by Jeffrey K — 25 Nov 2016

I like Robert Zemeckis a lot. He's made some of the most beloved films of the last generation, but I feel as of late his work has been a bit tame and lack the inspiration to take the story the extra mile. It shows flares of classic wartime romance, but ultimately it's a letdown when considering the immense talent both on and off screen.

Allied stars Brad Pitt (Max) and Marion Cotillard (Marianne) as lovers during World War II. The former is a spy and not much is really known about Cotillard, hence the main hook of the story. The trailer sells the movie as 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' in the middle of a war. It's not necessarily the most original story, but the premise and talent involved was enough to get me in the theater. I think the biggest problem the film ran into is that if you have watched the trailer, you're waiting for the big moment to happen. By big moment, I mean the point in which Max begins to question his wife.

So knowing that the entire first act is building towards a huge plot reveal made the first 40 minutes drag on. I was always engaged with what Pitt and Cotillard were doing but because the film is not written all that well, even they couldn't totally pull off flat dialogue. Taking that into consideration, it's difficult to truly care about the main characters in the climax, if you weren't all that into their romance in the first place. I tried hard to care about their relationship throughout the movie, but the park wasn't there.

But Allied is far from a bad movie. With the exception of a few poor wide-green screen shots, Allied is beautifully shot. The cinematography and tone set by Zemeckis gives it the feel of an old-time Hollywood film. This particularly felt like something Humphrey Bogart and one of his brilliant co-leads like Katharine Hepburn, Lauren Bacall, or Ingrid Bergman would tackle together. But perhaps that's because it partially took place in Casablanca. Nonetheless, I certainly felt like I made the leap to wartime London.

In all, Allied could have used a more polished script and inspired directing, but there's enough here to at least warrant a look. Cotillard and Pitt are worth the price of admission. But maybe a matinee admission.

+Beautifully shot.

+Escapism.

+Cotillard.

-Pacing issues.

-Tame directing job.

6.4/10.