Written by: Kevin Berge
Who knew Wolfenstein would have the first successful video game to movie adaptation? Wait, it's not based on Wolfenstein? (Image Courtesy of: mediastringer.com)
Quick Take: Overlord is a pure blast of energy combining the most exciting elements of action, horror, and war films to make one of the best blockbuster experiences of 2018. While its simplicity makes sure it doesn't tell much of a story, it is a pure adrenaline rush of a good time.
***This review will not contain spoilers beyond the basic story set-up. Those who have not seen the movie can read ahead without risk unless the reader is looking to go into Overlord completely blind.***
J.J. Abrams loves movies, glorious action-packed movies. It is clear in every film he makes. While he only produced Overlord, it is very much an Abrams movie, filled with the inspirations of past works and genres that makes up an overall fun exciting ride.
This is basically the type of movie I want out of video game adaptations, the kind of story that just never stops driving forward with the pure adrenaline of action. It doesn't have to be driven by a great story or inspired characters, just be fun enough and human enough to make the action matter.
Overlord pulls that off impressively with a story of a group of American soldiers landing in France during World War II with the hope of destroying a Nazi radio tower. It focuses on the empathetic Pvt. Ed Boyce (Jovan Adepo) as well as the jaded Cpl. Ford (Wyatt Russell) and the French captive Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier).
This is pure B-movie fun that is more action than horror or war film but certainly takes inspiration from such genres in its construction. There's not a lot here for those looking for an intense emotional ride. It is a fairly simplistic story with simplistic characters.
However, it all works together because this is a film built on great foundations. This is a movie that makes the most of limited character building while maximizing the amount of action and horror on display. It's the perfect movie for anyone who just wants to sit back and enjoy the ride.
While such movies have a limited shelf life especially given the lack of innovation present in Overlord, there's no reason that this movie should not find success in an era where so many generic action franchises succeed. The problem is primarily a lack of name recognition.
J.J. Abrams loves movies, glorious action-packed movies. It is clear in every film he makes. While he only produced Overlord, it is very much an Abrams movie, filled with the inspirations of past works and genres that makes up an overall fun exciting ride.
This is basically the type of movie I want out of video game adaptations, the kind of story that just never stops driving forward with the pure adrenaline of action. It doesn't have to be driven by a great story or inspired characters, just be fun enough and human enough to make the action matter.
Overlord pulls that off impressively with a story of a group of American soldiers landing in France during World War II with the hope of destroying a Nazi radio tower. It focuses on the empathetic Pvt. Ed Boyce (Jovan Adepo) as well as the jaded Cpl. Ford (Wyatt Russell) and the French captive Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier).
This is pure B-movie fun that is more action than horror or war film but certainly takes inspiration from such genres in its construction. There's not a lot here for those looking for an intense emotional ride. It is a fairly simplistic story with simplistic characters.
However, it all works together because this is a film built on great foundations. This is a movie that makes the most of limited character building while maximizing the amount of action and horror on display. It's the perfect movie for anyone who just wants to sit back and enjoy the ride.
While such movies have a limited shelf life especially given the lack of innovation present in Overlord, there's no reason that this movie should not find success in an era where so many generic action franchises succeed. The problem is primarily a lack of name recognition.
If you guys had just waited a few days, D-Day would have happened, and you wouldn't have needed to storm the Nazi zombie castle. (Image Courtesy of: rogerebert.com)
Jovan Adepo (Fences) and Wyatt Russell (22 Jump Street) are the closest the movie has to leads and are solid in their roles, but they're complete unknowns. This can work pure horror films, but it is a death sentence in action films. Even the other names attached to the movie won't spark excitement.
Abrams has worked to bring many new directors to the spotlight through genre thrills, but he's not going to convince people to give Julius Avery (Son of a Gun) a chance without some clear hook. The director does a great job with the material and often holds it all together, so I do hope he gets more chances in the near future.
Forgetting marketing mistakes, the only real issue I have with Overlord as a film is its lack of real meaning. There's almost reason behind setting this movie in World War II and making Nazis the villains. It is an easy move to make, but there's more you can do with such a foundation.
The Indiana Jones franchise's use of Nazis doesn't work because he's beating up people everyone hates. It works because his ideals clash with the Nazi ideals while testing how far Jones will go to protect his ideals. Here the movie goes completely off the deep end with its alternate reality focus without adding any reason to it.
This could have easily been a pure zombie fantasy film without changing anything over the course of the film. There's vague references to the idea of being better than your adversary and the toll war has on those caught in its midst, but none of it really has weight.
Still, sometimes narrative weight is overrated. At this point in the year, as movies ramp up the drama for Academy Award season, it is films like this that I will look back on and appreciate for just being fun. Sometimes fun is enough.
Abrams has worked to bring many new directors to the spotlight through genre thrills, but he's not going to convince people to give Julius Avery (Son of a Gun) a chance without some clear hook. The director does a great job with the material and often holds it all together, so I do hope he gets more chances in the near future.
Forgetting marketing mistakes, the only real issue I have with Overlord as a film is its lack of real meaning. There's almost reason behind setting this movie in World War II and making Nazis the villains. It is an easy move to make, but there's more you can do with such a foundation.
The Indiana Jones franchise's use of Nazis doesn't work because he's beating up people everyone hates. It works because his ideals clash with the Nazi ideals while testing how far Jones will go to protect his ideals. Here the movie goes completely off the deep end with its alternate reality focus without adding any reason to it.
This could have easily been a pure zombie fantasy film without changing anything over the course of the film. There's vague references to the idea of being better than your adversary and the toll war has on those caught in its midst, but none of it really has weight.
Still, sometimes narrative weight is overrated. At this point in the year, as movies ramp up the drama for Academy Award season, it is films like this that I will look back on and appreciate for just being fun. Sometimes fun is enough.
