In case you missed it during its theatrical run among all the drama going on in Brad Pitt’s personal life last fall, Allied is now available on BluRay and Dvd for you to enjoy at home.
Allied is the story of a Canadian spy named Max (played by Brad Pitt) who meets his future wife Marianne (Marion Cotillard) while on a mission in Casablanca. She too is a spy, although from France. The two work together undercover on a top secret mission, and end up falling in love. Once their mission is complete, the pair relocate to London to marry and raise a family. A year later Max is told that his wife is under suspicion of being a spy for the Germans, and that within 72 hours they will know the truth. If it is discovered that Marianne is a spy, Max is to execute her, and if he interferes in the investigation he too will be executed. Max is caught between a rock and a hard place, but in the end he lets his emotions guide him and he tries to prove Marianne’s innocence.
The first act of Allied plays out like your typical World War II film, and it’s nothing special. You may feel compelled to stop watching at that point, but don’t. The second act is much better, and the ending will leave you speechless. The film draws you in once the accusations of Marianne being a spy for the Germans start to surface, and you find yourself wanting to finish the film. There was a lot of talk about Pitt and Cotillard’s relationship outside the movie, but if their lack of chemistry in the movie is any indication, it is hard to believe. Pitt plays his role well, but Cotillard’s role would have been better suited for another actress. Still they have enough of a connection to make it somewhat believable.
Allied looks gorgeous on BluRay, and the sound quality is what you would expect, especially with a home theater system. There is over an hour of special, behind the scenes features on the disc, including documentaries on the cast, the costumes, and the story behind the movie, but each of them are pretty short and leave you wanting more. They might have been better off having a commentary soundtrack instead of all the short documentaries, or having just one longer, hour length documentary.
Allied is a perfect example of a movie that is better viewed at home than in a theater. It looks great, it sounds great, and you can take a break from it without having to watch the entire thing in one viewing.
