Mr. Movie

Mr. Movie review: ‘Allied’ wastes great performances from 2 excellent actors

Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt appear in a scene from “Allied.”
Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt appear in a scene from “Allied.” Associated Press

Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) are Max and Marianne.

They’re spies in early World War II who meet in North Africa and pretend to be married. They pull off the job, fall in love, escape to London and get married. Later, British intelligence accuses her of being a German spy, and Max has to prove her innocent.

Robert Zemeckis directs, and it’s written by Steven Knight, whose most famous screenplays are the food films The Hundred-Foot Journey and Burnt. He’s better at cooking up semi-interesting romances than World War II dramas. Under Zemeckis’ leaden thumb, this one crawls.

That’s unfortunate for Pitt and Cotillard, who are good actors caught in a project that might have seemed like a good idea at the time.

Allied

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Stars: Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard

Mr. Movie rating: 1 star

Rated PG-13 for mature themes. Rated PG-13 for mature themes. It’s playing at the Carmike 12, the Fairchild Cinemas Pasco and Queensgate 12s, Walla Walla Grand Cinemas

5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen.

4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it’s your type of movie.

3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on DVD.

2 stars to 1 star: Don’t bother.

0 stars: Speaks for itself.

This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Mr. Movie review: ‘Allied’ wastes great performances from 2 excellent actors."

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