Overlord

This review may contain spoilers!

This film owes a lot to a great director and cast making good use of a pretty awful script. I would give Overlord a 6.5/10.

This film is an ambitious genre smash, the likes of which are becoming more and more common these days. In this war/horror/sci-fi feature we follow a small band of American soldiers who drop behind enemy lines to blow up a Nazi radio jamming tower; little do they expect to find a secret Nazi laboratory in which ubermensch (supermen/supersoldiers) are being created. Overlord has a real talent for increasing the threat around the protagonists and immersing you within this dangerous setting; Nazi soldiers lurk behind every tree, a protagonist is suddenly erased by a mine or a great German Shepherd may maul a character before you expect it. By this measure, I found the first two acts absolutely enthralling and suspenseful. The cinematography at work throughout is inspired, with action coming fast yet playing with experimental angles; there is also an eye for powerful shots of war and desolation that populate the first act especially. The editing for the film moves at a great pace, even the way the film is cut to be slow then quicken for the sake of horror elements is impressive. The score used throughout really aids the tone and sets your nerves on edge, at first you feel immersed in the booming deafening world of war but as the sci-fi/horror elements come to play this same music takes a twisted and distorted turn that put you ill at ease.

Wyatt Russell, who played Ford, is a haunted yet dangerous soldier who is solely driven by a need to see his mission done; Russell's portrayal of the rage and hatred that his role barely has a lid on is nothing short of impressive. Mathilde Ollivier, who played Chloe, is a good representation of a people under hostage hungry to rebel; Ollivier narrowly navigates her way past protagonist and antagonist alike in an effort to obtain freedom for her and Taufer's Paul. John Magaro, who played Tibbet, is a fast-talking crass member of the platoon who entertains highly throughout; it's interesting hos Magaro can come across as initially so antagonistic to Adepo's role yet make the audience feel so much for him in the scene where he saves Taufer's Paul. Gianny Taufer, who played Paul, is one of the better child actors I've seen this year; Taufer imbues his character with an innocent curiosity about American culture which forms a strong connection that is the heart of this film. Bokeem Woodbine, who played Rensin, is hard as slate and tough as nails as the military corporal; Woodbine has some strong one-liners and is completely fearless under the threat of death.

However, the best performance came from Jovan Adepo, who played lead protagonist: Boyce. This character exists in a state of quiet morality and intense terror when first we meet him. Adepo very skillfully shows a young man lost in wartime, he is surrounded by violence and malice yet has managed to cling firmly to his principles. As the narrative carries forth Boyce has to grapple with some tough decisions such as saving Chloe from Wafner or exfiltrating his friend Rosenfeld from the underground Nazi laboratory. As this strength within Adepo's role grows he finds the courage to kill the abominable ubermensch menace that is rising around them and even manages to take charge within his platoon. This lead character is fascinating because he's seen as being incapable due to his reserved moral stance at first, yet without this perspective, the protagonists would never have triumphed over the ultimate threat of the film.

The struggle with making a film that has so many genre elements within it is finding the balance. This film banks almost all of itself on pulling off a war film which it does admirably well, right up until that final act. Eventually, the feature has to talk about the German super-soldiers, what created them and what purpose they actually serve. Sadly, this isn't really fleshed out till the very end of the second act and from that point, the film has such an intense sci-fi horror vibe that you feel like you're watching a B-list blockbuster as opposed to the interesting visual feature displayed prior. Quite frankly the ubermensch storyline just doesn't make a lot of sense, there's some black goop under a church that didn't do anything until the Nazi scientists had their hands upon it. This film might have had a better chance if the antagonist hadn't been Wafner, the German captain. Wafner controls the military might in the town and is captured very early on, he's depicted as being laughably weak and more of a hostage figure. When the film decides to cast him as the major antagonist by the end of the film and make him a special effects monster the interest dips a lot, the Nazi scientist behind these creations certainly offered more opportunity I felt. The soundtrack for the film also wasn't very good, 'Bridging the Gap' by NAS is so completely different from the score of the film that you are immediately dumped out of what you've been watching just as the credits hit which leaves you feeling both confused and a little disappointed.

Pilou Asbaek, who played Wafner, has to be one of the worst antagonists I've seen in a blockbuster recently; Asbaek is so completely unintimidating that you're looking for danger from outside sources and his change to a monster-type villain by the end is cornier than anything else. Iain De Caestecker, who played Chase, is such a meek role that you forget he's there half the time; his violent transformation into an ubermensch is abrupt and comes off as a moment that doesn't really fit De Caestecker's range. Jacob Anderson, who played Dawson, is a role written to die; Anderson's light tone is short lived and needed more screen time to really resonate with the audience. Dominic Applewhite, who played Rosenfeld, is a role who is perhaps the easiest to forget as the writers neglect to mention him after he disappears in the first act; Applewhite's return is quieter than it really should've been and his character doesn't fit into the chemistry of the platoon.