Allied Review

The war is waging and Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) has headed to Casablanca to meet his planted wife Marianne (Marion Cotillard) with the ultimate goal of working together to infiltrate a Nazi party and take out a diplomat. This unfolds over a few nights where they attempt to blend in with the social groups of the party which isn't too difficult since Marianne has already been there for awhile getting close to them.


The story decently hides its plot points and I was surprised all the way to the end of the film. I was certainly not expecting it to be such a thriller based movie and it was actually rather dark as well which I didn't anticipate.

Allied was also a fantastic time piece capturing the period very well with authentic sets, characters and costumes. I was a bit appalled by CGI elements in the backdrops of scenes feeling as though they did take away from the realism greatly. It also seemed as though Brad Pitt wasn't entirely into the character coming across as very stiff and lacking his usual charm which was disappointing.

With this being an intimate spy based film both leads are equally important and Marion captured her role well making Pitt's that much worse. Those aspects aside it was enjoyable carrying a good pace with some interesting turns along the way that kept things fresh. It was also nice that they didn't hold back on things despite being romance focused as they weren't afraid to show a deadlier side of their spy business.

The Conclusion

Allied was a solid film capturing its time period well and providing a suspenseful story. It also hid twists decently enough keeping the audience guessing and even further surprising at the end.

I also loved the detail in the environments to display life in the war well and that the two spies went in-depth in explaining how they were able to disguise themselves. There was also a good balance of action with some quieter scenes that helped build a strong story.

The CGI was not good at times, but I will mention those scenes were limited enough not to have a huge impact on the overall film. I had a larger issue with the stiff acting from Pitt which looked weak compared to Marion's excellent take on her character with those two being the core of this story. That aside I did enjoy it finding it to be an exciting story and a completely unique spy thriller.

Allied Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Paramount

Rating Overall: 7.0