Movie Review: ‘Allied’

‘Allied’ (Paramount Pictures)

By Lucas Allen

This awards season there are plenty of new movies meant to “bait” everyone into giving them some recognition. In this case, expect more serious films coming out this season with actors giving their best in stories meant to move you.

Director Robert Zemeckis tries it again after “Flight” with “Allied,” a World War II spy thriller that harkens back to Hollywood’s golden age for modern audiences. Even without any memory of that era, it’s still worth a watch.

The movie begins in 1942 when Canadian intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) working with the British lands in Morocco for a special mission. He meets up in Casablanca with Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) from the French resistance posing as husband and wife to kill a Nazi baron. After a successful mission they decided to return to London and get married for real.

Over the next few years, they live a quiet, normal life in a nice house with a baby girl in spite of the ongoing war. But Max’s world is shattered when his superior officer Frank Heslop (Jared Harris) and an SOE official (Simon McBurney) inform him that his wife could be a German spy.

Although he’s given a 72-hour kill order, he doesn’t believe the accusation and investigates on his own hoping to prove his wife’s innocence. Soon enough, his investigations lead to some twists and turns no one could expect.

If you’re going into this movie hoping to see another action-packed WWII movie with Pitt killing Nazis, such as “Inglorious Basterds” or “Fury,” then you’ll be a little disappointed with this one. Though there are some action moments, the movie is more like the old spy thrillers of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s (think Sean Connery’s early Bond movies) that work on a suspenseful level.

It also looks like Zemeckis was trying to pay tribute to the 1942 classic “Casablanca” not just in location but also with elements of a tangled romance, war, Nazis and all-night get-togethers. Longtime fans of that film and other golden age thrillers will most likely find something great about it.

But let’s not forget this is an R-rated modern war film that collides with the retro quality of this period thriller. There are some scenes of Nazis getting shot and burned and impressive displays of wartime sequences in a way a perfectionist like Zemeckis can dream up. While certainly not as graphic as “Hacksaw Ridge,” story and characters still comes first for this thrilling tale.

Pitt may be way too good-looking to play James Bond, but his knack for putting himself in the line of fire is utterly convincing. He also adds some fine dramatic touches as a man determined to prove everyone else wrong.

Cotillard could score another Oscar nomination as the woman with a possible secret. She shows many different sides of her character giving emotions to every one of her scenes.

“Allied” may get lost in the awards pile at the box office, but it’s still a great spy thriller in the tradition of Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock for modern audiences. It works on multiple levels, which makes it worth watching on the big screen.

THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for violence, some sexuality/nudity, language, and brief drug use)
THE MOVIE’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (out of four)