Overlord
In Producer J.J. Abrams latest
financed film “Overlord” he and Director Julius Avery use the actual code name of
the military operation for the June 6th, 1944 Battle of Normandy, when the
Allied operation launched their successful invasion of German-occupied Western
Europe during World War II. And it is with this information we see the beginning
of the 2018 film “Overlord” reimagining of events of that invasion.
In the film “Overlord” we see from
the air the arrival of a US Airborne paratrooper division being readied to drop
behind Nazi enemy lines in France. Led by their Captain this mix bag of Americans
has to carry out a time urgent mission that's crucial to the overall invasion's
success of destroying a radio transmitter atop a fortified church. Once on the ground
the desperate soldiers join forces with a young woman French villager to
penetrate the walls and take down the tower. But, in their life and death
struggle to get to the heavily fortified church a mysterious Nazi lab is discovered
beneath the church itself. The clearly outnumbered American G.I.s soon discover
that not only are they outnumbered but that they have also come face-to-face
with an enemy unlike any the world has ever seen before.
REVIEW: Let
me be clear, “Overlord” ………….is totally preposterous. Well I certainly hope so.
But again, as brilliant tactically the Germans were in the 1940’s militarily
speaking, the movie also reminds us just how diabolically sinister, murderous
and evil that regime was. Apparently Old uncle Adolf had charged his brilliant scientists
to develop some serum that look like someone mixed in a bowl pink Pepto Bismol
and cherry Kool Aid (my childhood favorite) as some forward thinking antidote to
insuring Old Uncle Adolph’s goal of have a 1000 years Third Reich where Nazi Germany
would inherited the earth for 10 centuries; never falling.
So, damn it Lester is this preposterous
film any good………..Well,………Hell yes its good.
With an opening 10 minutes as intense
as “Saving Private Ryan”, along with a well-crafted screenplay, a mixture of war
films classics like “The Dirty Dozen”, and Inglorious Basterds, with just a smidgen
of cable’s AMC’s “The Walking Dead, this film was a total blast of plain old dramatic fun.
With scenes seemingly rooted in the moment as real, with life and death situations throughout and just overall plausible tense drama, I
found the entire film very compelling from beginning to end.
Now there was one character who
was the well-intended moral barometer of goodness played by actor Jovan
Adepo as infantry “Boyce”. He got on my nerves at times with his overabundance
of always being kind and doing the right thing. But in retrospect his persona was
genuinely needed for this type of drama - science fiction – horror film to work
as effectively as it does.
But the real star and future star
was actor Wyatt Russell who played “Lt Ford”………..Who? Well you might know him
better by his parents Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. He had a lot of natural
screen presence and rugged charisma. And trust me you won’t miss recognizing him.
He looks like his father Kurt. He smiles like his father Kurt. His eyes are like
his father Kurt. And he sounds just like Kurt ……………eerie.
“Overlord” is the type of film that has a good plot, with great action sequencing from frame to frame and nothing more. No odd detractions in the story that will tax your brain or multiple layered subplots infused in attempt to be strategically clever here and there with the hopes of connecting it all at the
end of the film. It just works on the basic premise................. “Americans good” & “Nazi’s bad”,………..and
also what the F is that running around in the dark and damp church basement.
And yes I even jumped in my seat once.
Go have some war film - science fiction - action thriller preposterous fun. See “Overlord”.
3.75 Stars
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