Director: Julius Avery
Writer: Billy Ray, Mark L Smith (Screenplay)
Starring: Wyatt Russell, Mathilda Ollivier, Pilou Asbaek, Jovan Adepo, John Margaro, Iain De Caestecker, Bokeem Woodbine
Plot: The story of two American soldiers behind enemy lines on D Day.
Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Bloody & Brutal
Story: Overlord starts when a unit of American soldiers led by Ford (Russell) and with rookie Boyce (Adepo) being the man we follow through the film. The unit is on a mission to destroy a radio tower behind enemy lines in France during World War II to stop the communication lines before D-Day.
When their plane is shot down the team is down to just four, Ford, Boyce, Tibbet (Magaro) and Chase (Caestecker) who team up with a French lady Chloe (Olliver) whose village has been overrun by Wafner (Asbaek) and his men. When Boyce learns the truth about what the Germans have been doing they must complete their mission and stop their experiments before they become the most dangerous army in the world.
Thoughts on Overlord
Characters – Boyce is the rookie soldier, considered weak by his unit, he does make rookie mistakes like many soldiers, we see most of the events through his eyes, unlike the rest of the soldiers he does want to make human decisions however dangerous they may seem. We do see how he evolves as a soldier through the film. Ford is the no nonsense explosive expert that knows the mission is more important than his life. He is born a soldier that does seem to have a past which leaves him in the unit even after the being on previous mission. Chloe is a French woman that has been terrorised by the German soldiers, she does everything she can to protect her younger brother, she sees hope in the American soldiers and helps them take on the Germans. Wafner is one of the German soldiers that targets Chloe, he goes to the new strength from the secrets being held within the lab. The supporting soldiers are good too mostly used for comedy.
Performances – Jovan Adepo in the leading role is very strong, he is an actor I hadn’t seen in anything before and his innocent nature plays perfectly. Wyatt Russell easily becomes the guy you want to watch the most, you can see he is following in his father’s footsteps with the performance he gives us here. Mathilde Olliver is good too with Pilou Asbaek making for a good villain.
Story – The story here brings us into the idea that the Nazi’s were performing experiments on innocent and making them a new threat in World War II. We follow the soldiers that are trying to complete a mission which is the important part of the D-Day landing mission. The story does have a real-time feeling which gives everything an extra level of tension. In fairness everything around the experiment has been done before, the biggest plus however comes from the limited number of zombies being used which shows us just how the early parts are starting to come from the results. This is one of the most simple and effective storylines you will see and this should be praised.
Action/Horror/Mystery/Sci-Fi – The action in this movie starts of with war conflict with a brilliant sequence on a plane before the units landing, we follow the usual until we get to the zombie side of things which involves plenty of brutal bloody fights. This plays well in the hands of the horror because we see just how brutal each fight becomes for each person involved, the mystery comes from the soldiers needing to learn what the German’s are up to inside the church and the big part is that it gets solved. With what they are doing we enter the world of sci-fi which becomes an easy go to for war films involving what the Nazi’s might have been up to.
Settings – The film gives us realistic settings which show us the small town with the church that needs to have the radio tower destroyed, the woodland area gives cover and for any sort of experiment side of things, the settings fit in perfectly.
Special Effects – The effects here are bloody covered crazy enjoyment, we do have certain CGI moments, mostly being see with how to stop the zombies and from the first visit to the lab.
Scene of the Movie – Exploring the lab for the first time.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – I think we could have been given a moment of truth from why Ford was moved to this unit as certain moments suggest different rumours.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun bloody and over the top film that can be enjoyed by anyone in the horror world, it knows how to make the action feel like a popcorn film and that is all we ask for at times.
Overall: Truly enjoyable horror movie.
Rating
