Anytime you get a movie with two attractive stars to play husband and wife, it may be unrealistic but it could fall into a good romance, which should be seen in Allied. Does director Robert Zemeckis lead is way into Oscar territory once again?
During World War II, intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) is stationed in North Africa where he encounters French Resistance fighter Marianna Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Reunited in London, their relationship is threatened by the extreme pressures of the war as he has learned that his wife might possibly be a spy.
As a fan of both of these stars and director, this could’ve been an intriguing story as it about married assassins, and this sounded like it could be somewhere along the lines of Inglourious Basterds meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith. But it turns out to be like Casablanca but not that engaging and memorable as that’s what Allied turned into. And it’s clear the Zemeckis was paying homage to Casablanca and other classic Hollywood classic, and it’s kind of shows a lot of tone and some of the scenes.
Pitt and Cotillard worked well together as we see their romance blossom in the course of their time together. Even when there’s a sex scene in a car during a sandstorm as kind of believable. Their performances are quite good as none of them phoned it in. Cotillard, in particular, keeps giving more captivating performances and she’s more beautiful in anything she’s in.
As I heard about this, it sounded like an action film with moments of romance involved, but it’s the opposite as it’s vice versa with drama. Once the story of Pitt figuring out Cotillard might be a spy an hour in, it became uninteresting as the plotline kicks in. I consider Zemeckis an underrated director, but I completely forgot he was directing the film as it didn’t feel like his style came to play. Maybe the film could’ve been better if it was directed by someone else.
But the other behind-the-scenes of it feels like the WWII era as shown in the fantastic costume and production designs. There’s a pacing problem as a lot of scenes drag for so long. It should be said that some stuff should’ve been cut out to make a more even story to follow. Maybe it’s because the lack of action being presented really proved that point of not being exciting after the first sequences.
Once it ended, there wasn’t a sense of composure to fall into. Unfortunately, Allied falls under the Oscar-bait category falling short of expectations leading to this as a disappointment.
While it’s calibrated with stellar performances from Pitt and Cotillard, Allied failed to make this romantic thriller enthralling.
Grade: C
DC's Take 