Released: 2018
Starring: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Gianny Taufer, Pilou Asbæk, Bokeem Woodbine
Director: Julius Avery
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Rated: R (UK – 18)
Overlord is a World war II era film with a horror/sci-fi twist. You will get all the action, gore, scares, and tense moments that the movie promotes as well as some great acting by the cast. While it does have a few missteps, it still is one of the best action films this year.
A squad of U.S. soldiers is tasked with parachuting into German-occupied France to destroy a radio tower located in a church, which is blocking air support for the invading Allied forces. Unfortunately, most of the squad is killed as soon as they hit the ground, leaving only five survivors to continue the mission. Hiding out in a local village girl’s home, the remaining soldiers begin to plan a way to accomplish their mission, while faced with ten to one odds of success (10 German soldiers for every one of the U.S. troops). When one of the troops accidentally ends up in the church, he discovers more than a radio tower. Strange Nazi experiments on the local villagers and the fallen soldiers have made this mission more critical and more dangerous than it already was.
Overlord is an enjoyable schlocky movie with high production values behind it. Their use of blended practical effects with C.G.I. (heavily leaning on the practical effects), gives the movie plenty of moments that will make your skin crawl. The “zombie” creatures are grisly with plenty of exposed wounds, blood, and slimy ooze to keep any horror fan happy. Even simple things like explosions, gunfire, and damage all look sensational and pull you into the dangers of the action scenes. Some effects did falter a bit. A shot of Boyce falling to Earth out of the plane comes to mind as looking unreal and almost cartoonish, but this can happily be overlooked and even forgotten as the film progresses.
Having seen the standard theatrical release, I can not verify, but I feel this movie was more geared towards an IMAX viewing. The massive action moments and intense, intimate build-ups to scares will convey themselves more strongly in the IMAX setting.
With a very thematic musical score, this movie successfully connected you with the emotional and intense moments of the film. One thing that stood out to me, however, was the first song of the ending credits. While I have nothing against the genre, their choice of playing a modern rap song, which is entirely not in tune with the film, baffles me.
The cast of the film all did a great job. Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers, Mother!) as the main character Pvt. Ed Boyce delivered an extensive range of emotions that you may not expect in a movie like this. We see everything from terror and anger, to compassion and confidence. While the character’s end development is not where I would have liked the film to go, that is more of a direction and plot problem and not a fault of the actor’s. Wyatt Russell (Goon: Last of the Enforcers, Cowboys & Aliens) channeled some darkness with his character, Corporal Ford, displaying remorselessness when using the enemy’s own methods against them. You weren’t sure whether to root for the Corporal or wonder if one of his own men was going to shoot him.
Two other performances to call attention to include Mathilde Ollivier (The Misfortunes of François Jane) as Chloe, the village girl who helps the U.S. troops and Pilou Asbæk (Lucy, Ben-Hur) as the Nazi Captain Wafner. Their respective portrayals of their characters were excellent. Mathilde gave a compelling presentation as a young woman who remained strong and did what was needed in the face of the horrors the Nazi regime had inflicted on her village and her family. Pilou was a perfect antithesis to the Boyce character and a great nemesis to Corporal Ford. Ford was rugged and brash while Captain Wafner was charismatic and clean cut, but neither held back from violence. Pilou really made your skin crawl when he would taunt, command, or threaten the others.
There were a few issues I had with the plot though. The church plays a vital role for the U.S. troops, and while that is clearly explained, they never answer why it was chosen as the location for the Nazi experiments. They hint to something below the church that is vital to what they are working on, but it is never really elaborated. How did the Germans find it? How did it get there? What is it exactly? This “miracle” was just there, and everyone knew it but us. And speaking of unanswered questions, there is a character that you never see except by sounds and a quick glance. This is Chloe’s aunt who is locked away in a room in her house. Again, it is never explained how she got there in her condition or why she is docile?
Overlord was a lot of fun to watch on the big screen and is worth a trip to the movies. Everything was better than I expected after watching the trailer for the film. If you are in the mood for a good action film with horror elements, then Overlord will satisfy you. And, something I didn’t mention earlier, you can watch this movie with the expectation of getting a beginning, a middle, and an end. With the world of film franchise builders we currently live in, where everything leaves a cliffhanger for future films, that is definitely a bonus.
Rating:
Jack Savage:
Overlord surprised me with how well done everything was. Big action, great effects, and a good bit of story and setting made this film far better than the marketing implied. I expected a typical zombie film in a war setting and got something a little different and a lot better.
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