Allied
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: November 23, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 44 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
19
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedNov 22, 2016
Beautiful, bold and blazing with sex and suspense, Allied is a gorgeously photographed, intensely romantic, action-packed film by the great director Robert Zemeckis with two titanic star performances by Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard that delivers something for everyone. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comPeter SobczynskiNov 21, 2016
While it may not quite be the modern-day “Casablanca,” it is nevertheless a grandly entertaining stab at old-fashioned storytelling...buoyed by smart and stylish filmmaking, a good performance by Brad Pitt and an even better one from Marion Cotillard. Read full review
90
The New York TimesA.O. ScottNov 22, 2016
It’s not so much a work of art as a triumph of craft, and therefore a reminder of the deep pleasures of old-fashioned technique and long experience. Read full review
88
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonNov 23, 2016
An old-fashioned film that slyly nods to contemporary sensibilities, Allied is an engaging showcase for Pitt and Cotillard. Read full review
83
ConsequenceBlake GobleNov 22, 2016
Misdirection, tight spots, intimacy as danger. Allied is a paperback thriller’s greatest hits compilation. But the film’s plotting is lively and sincere, gussying up the staid tropes of intrigue into immediate pleasures and perils. Read full review
83
The Film StageConor O'DonnellNov 21, 2016
Entertainment of the highest order, Allied, like a large portion of Robert Zemeckis’ work, feels like a grand ode to filmmaking of an era past. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyNov 21, 2016
There’s something decidedly old-fashioned about the new Brad Pitt-Marion Cotillard spy thriller, Allied. And that ends up being a good thing. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekNov 23, 2016
Zemeckis uses technology to elicit the feeling we get when we watch old favorites. It’s almost like Smell-o-Vision, but with intensified visuals instead of aromatics. Even within this highly synthetic world, Pitt and Cotillard give sturdy, coded performances that feel naturalistic, not phony. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 21, 2016
Allied, swathed in larger-than-life, luxurious imposture, is the real heart-racing deal. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperNov 22, 2016
The movie is entertaining, perhaps more so if you’re at one of those establishments where they allow you to bring a generous pour of wine into the theater. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 22, 2016
On the whole, it works although perhaps not as well as it might have if the central relationship had more carefully established. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleNov 22, 2016
He )Robert Zemeckis) creates a movie that is old-fashioned in every possible good way, but that in no way seems passe or cliched. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Nov 22, 2016
Zemeckis has fashioned an unfashionable throwback, and if Allied doesn’t land the gut-punch it winds up to deliver, there’s nevertheless plenty to admire in a blockbuster craftsman and two beautiful stars paying tribute to the spirit of an older Hollywood. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNov 22, 2016
With Allied, Robert Zemeckis has fashioned a good old-fashioned World War II romantic espionage movie, but that wouldn’t matter a damn if the leads weren’t beautiful and didn’t look great in period clothes. They are and they do. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangNov 22, 2016
Even when Allied loses its footing, there is something unmistakably touching about Zemeckis’ commitment to evoking a world so quietly, heroically out of step with the times. Read full review
70
New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasNov 21, 2016
If you enjoy slightly awkward romance during wartime, Allied is worth a fling. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanNov 21, 2016
Allied is tense and absorbing, yet the film’s climactic act somehow falls short. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBilge EbiriNov 21, 2016
Allied doesn’t deliver any particularly shocking twists or turns; the real surprise here is how much a well-told, well-acted tale can still resonate. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyNov 23, 2016
What Allied increasingly offers is insincere sincerity: As the emotional quotient rises, so does the phoniness. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldNov 22, 2016
Allied runs out of steam before its overwrought ending. It’s as if the film, struggling under the weight of the classic epics it recalls, just gives up. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanNov 22, 2016
As the espionage plot surges toward its nail-biting conclusion, the path it’s traveling feels less open-ended than preordained. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineJake ColeNov 21, 2016
In the film, Robert Zemeckis brings to bear his pop-epic scope in what's otherwise a claustrophobic story. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzNov 21, 2016
Allied is a decent movie, but frustrating — it should have been great, but never gets out of its own way long enough to be. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonNov 21, 2016
Bits of Allied really do work. There’s a clawing tension to the later scenes, as their marital bliss starts to turn sour. Pitt’s anguish is convincing, and even if some of his actions are ludicrous – endangering an entire Resistance cell for his own peace of mind, for instance – we still feel for him. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonNov 21, 2016
Allied attempts to balance joy with heartbreak, and never fully manages either. But fans of old-school entertainment are unlikely to leave disappointed Read full review
60
Screen DailyTim GriersonNov 21, 2016
A World War II romance-thriller that starts off smartly but sputters to an underwhelming finale. Read full review
58
IndieWireKate ErblandNov 21, 2016
Allied can never settle on a consistent tone, bumping along from smooth spy adventure to stylized war picture to treatise on marriage, all peppered with stilted attempts at humor for an added dash of incomprehensibility. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony LaneNov 28, 2016
Allied is written by Steven Knight and directed by Robert Zemeckis, who seems uncertain whether to treat the tale as a wrenching saga of split loyalties or as a glamorous jaunt. Having gathered all the ingredients for derring-do, he forgets to turn up the heat, and the derring never does. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversNov 22, 2016
What a handsome empty shell of a movie Allied is. Read full review
50
USA TodayBrian TruittNov 22, 2016
Ridiculously attractive spies fall hard for each other in Allied, but don’t expect "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" with Nazis. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniNov 22, 2016
Allied comes off like a highlight reel that mimics the look and feel of a whole school of great films, from "Casablanca" to Hitchcock's "Suspicion" and "Notorious." Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezNov 22, 2016
You don’t buy into their romance the way you buy into, say, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in the upcoming “La La Land.” All you see are two big movie stars playing make-believe. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithNov 21, 2016
Allied is slow-footed and tepid, its plot twists dopey and soapy. I was rooting for things to get interesting, but I would have settled for a few surprises. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 21, 2016
In a movie built around two characters, Pitt does not hold up his 50 percent. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoNov 21, 2016
Allied is a prestige drama without the prestige, wooden in appearance and lacking any true drama. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallNov 21, 2016
Any resemblance between Allied and a much better movie on the subject isn't coincidental but unfortunate. Read full review
50
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonNov 21, 2016
It’s an engaging film in many respects, but one that exemplifies a lot of the problems that have trailed Zemeckis across his career. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyNov 21, 2016
Plodding and pedestrian even in the technical magic that is a Zemeckis trademark, this is a case of a director out of his element with a script that fails to generate much heat. Read full review
40
EmpirePhil de SemlyenNov 21, 2016
Zemeckis’ old-school romance has its moments and Cotillard gives it her all, but it lacks the zip and chemistry to truly spark. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawNov 21, 2016
Director Robert Zemeckis is usually known for his zestiness and zippiness; but this is arduous. Screenwriter Steven Knight scripted smart movies such as Locke, Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises, and there are some nice touches, but it resembles an unconvincing and sluggish pastiche of a war movie. Read full review
40
TheWrapRobert AbeleNov 21, 2016
Allied is ultimately a thin love story, with creaky suspense machinery and star turns from Pitt and Cotillard that feel more like matinee idol dress-up than a meeting of the magnetic. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreNov 23, 2016
The settings are pristine, and feel about as real and lived in as “The Polar Express.” The performances have a stiffness that borders on motion-capture animation. Director Robert Zemeckis brings us a “Casablanca” without a scrap of heart, an “English Patient” with all of the splendor, and none of the heat. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisNov 23, 2016
Allied is so full of itself it forgets to entertain most of the time. Here’s so not looking at you, kid. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorNov 23, 2016
Underneath all this mess there is some idea about the conflict between private love and public duty, between personal interests and those of the state, but the characters are so marginally observed by both the actors and the script there is no tension in the themes. Read full review
More From This Movie

60 Critic Reviews

6.7 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 78 John Wick: Chapter 4
2 73 Creed III
3 67 Avatar: The Way of Water
4 63 Knock at the Cabin
5 62 Plane
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL