A spy (Brad Pitt) lands in WWII Morocco and connects with a female colleague (Marion Cotillard). They pretend to be husband and wife, infiltrate a Nazi dinner party and assassinate the German ambassador. The mission goes well and they decide to go back to London and get married for real. However, one section of the RAF suspects Marion might actually be a Nazi double agent.

The plot presents an interesting premise which it then utterly fails to deliver on. There’s no real connection between the couple and when the potential deception is introduced it’s hard to care. Then just as everything should be hotting up, Zemeckis drags it out for a whole hour before quickly wrapping it all up in the last 10 minutes.

Weirder still is the ridiculous over-reliance on CG imagery, particularly in key scenes. Just before their dangerous first mission together Brad and Marion decide to have sex in the car during a sandstorm because they don’t know if they’ll make it out alive. This serves as the whole premise for them eventually getting together and yet the special effects are so off-putting it becomes a bit of a joke. It’s unforgivable in an age where kids on their laptops can whip up realistic footage.

Spies, the war, planes, exotic places, good looking people - this film really has it all! And yet Allied completely fails to grab your attention. It’s a loveless love story and a suspense-less thriller.

https://benoliver999.com/film/2017/08/19/allied/