"Allied' has the star power and the look of a hit. Unfortunately, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard's scenes together fail to ignite (more his fault that hers. He seems to be sleepwalking throughout). And the drama that takes place for the rest of the film is supposed to be full of suspense, but if you haven't figured out the ending long before it happens, you're not paying attention. Director Robert Zemeckis gets in some action; unfortunately, it's mostly the first quarter of the movie. Pitt plays Max Vatan, a Quebecois agent working for British special operations. He parachutes into French Morocco to rendezvous with Marianne Beausejour (Cotillard), a French resistance worker who will pretend to be his wife. Together they plan to assassinate the German ambassador. Then their fake marriage becomes real and Max and Marianne live in London. The plot kicks in when Max is told that his wife is possibly a German spy.
Most of the acting falls to Cotillard, who even in an artificial house of cards, manages to suggest a woman of heart. Pitt looks very good (and I have to wonder if his looks were enhanced artificially), but his good looks can no longer compensate for his lack of acting skill. Of course, there are some scripts that allow for a certain mischief in his roles, like Inglorious Basterds that enhance what acting he can do. But "Allied" is not that movie. In addition, "Allied" is overly long with plot twists that are questionable. They certainly don't make sense.
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