Allied: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) and Marianne Beauséjour (Marion Cotillard), two of the world’s deadliest spies, who fall in love while undercover on a top-secret mission and marry during World War II. But when Max learns his wife may be secretly conspiring with the enemy, he has only 72 hours to prove her innocence and save his family before he must do the unthinkable.
I’m not going to lie, for the first 20 minutes of this film it kind of felt like a serious version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and I was totally okay with that. The plot unfortunately didn’t “wow” me though but I didn’t think it was horrible either. I kept waiting for the big action movie finale moment that just never happened and there were some plot points that seemed semi-predictable. There was one thing that truly bothered me though and that was Pitts’ face. No, that’s not an insult by any means but something about it wasn’t right. It almost seemed like there was CG added to make him seem younger or something to that degree. It just looked a bit too smooth. Even with that it was still very intriguing and I loved the way that Pitt and Cotillard really embodied people around the WWII era. They had this espionage “class” to their characters that suited their personalities very well. Pitt and Cotillard had fantastic chemistry and their acting ability made the story feel real and had me emotionally attached to the the characters’ situation. I wish the film had more “umph” to it but it did definitely have my attention and while Cotillard seems to take on roles similar to this (as far as drama goes) it was a nice change of pace from the typical roles that Pitt has been in. Even though it wasn’t the best I do highly suggest checking it out as it did have strong performances. 7/10
4K Presentation:
The majority of 4K films make sense to be in this format and with the setting of this one it’s no different. The production design lends itself nicely to the clarity of this format and seeing the overwhelming backdrop of war was interestingly beautiful as it was terrible. Between the standard Blu-ray and the 4K disc there are some pretty significant differences as far as picture quality goes but one would only be able to tell if you are an AV nerd. To the untrained eye there may be little to no difference at all. I do suggest watching the film in this format but if you pick a standard Blu-ray then you’ll most likely be just fine as well.
Special Features:
From Stages to the Sahara: The Production Design of Allied – A look at the production design of the film and how they were able to recreate some scenes via blue screen.
Through the Lens: Directing with Robert Zemeckis – The cast and crew talk about the genius of Zemeckis and his directing style.
A Stitch in Time: The Costumes of Allied – This feature focuses on costume design and how they were able to recreate looks from that particular era.
Lights, Pixels, ACTION! The Visual Effects of Allied – An in depth look at all the visual effects in the film.
That Swingin’ Sound: The Music of Allied – This feature looks at the film’s score and how important it was to the story.
Story of Allied – A small discussion on the story behind the film as well as tidbits on the cast and characters.
‘Til Death Do Us Part: Max and Marianne – A nice feature about the performances of Pitt and Cotillard.
Guys and Gals: The Ensemble Cast – A look at some of the secondary characters in the film.
Behind the Wheel: The Vehicles of Allied – A focus on the incredible automobiles in the film.
Locked and Loaded: The Weapons of Allied – A look at the fantastic guns used in the film.
