Overlord (2018) - Contemporary preferences jammed into tedious WWII horror action

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Paratroopers dropping from a plane mirror blood splatters on this otherwise starkly white poster for Julius Avery's Overlord

American paratroopers are dropped across a French countryside in a jumble of death and fire on the eve of D-Day (6th June 1944, WWII), and once safely on the ground they are tasked with blowing up a tower, - but a grim Nazi secret is awaiting them...

 

Overlord is written by Billy Ray (Volcano (1997)) and Mark L. Smith (Martyrs (2015)) and directed by Julius Avery (Son of a Gun (2014)).

It presents a graphic novel and video game reminiscent version of WWII with 'attitude'-prone soldiers, (anachronistically for the period their behavior curiously resemble 2010s age teenagers), who feel no visible consequences of any of the insane intimate experiences with death that they go through here.

Aside from these dubious character issues, the film is polished stylishly and bloody, with Nazi experiment monsters and a (politically correct for today) black hero. Overlord is a very basic, 'what-are-you-gonna-do-with-it' type of tiresome ultra-violence product.

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 38 mil. $

Box office: 41.6 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 1.09 times its cost)

[Overlord premiered 22 September (Fantastic Fest, USA) and runs 110 minutes. Shooting took place around May 2017 in England. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release The Grinch and holdover hit Bohemian Rhapsody, to a 10.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it fell out of the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 21.7 mil. $ (52.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 2 mil. $ (4.8 %) and the UK with 1.6 mil. $ (3.8 %). Avery returned with Samaritan (2022). Jovan Adepo (Fences (2016)) returned in 6 TV and voice performances prior to his theatrical return in The Violent Heart (2020). Overlord is certified fresh at 82 % with a 6.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Overlord? 

The Revenant (2015) - Nature outdoes itself in Iñárritu's showy, solemn macho-spectacle

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Leonardo DiCaprio looks fierce on the icy poster for Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu's The Revenant

The Revenant is the 6th feature from Mexican master filmmaker Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu (Babel (2006)). It is the true story of tough frontiersman Hugh Glass, based on Michael Punke's (Last Stand (2007)) 2002 novel The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge. Iñárritu wrote the script with Mark L. Smith (Vacancy (2007)).

Glass and his half-Indian teenage son are part of a larger pelt group in the high north, who are attacked by Indians and have to flee without their pelts. But the road back to camp is long, fraught with dangers from outside and within the group.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road (2008)) gives what appears a trooper's performance here in his Oscar-winning moment, and his glamorous star persona is a real hurdle to get past here in this for him unusual role. 'Leo the trapper' is a reach. But the strong performance, surrounding male ensemble, - in a truly macho movie, - and fabulous nature and cinematography slowly wins you past it.

Tom Hardy (Warrior (2011)) is great as a homicidal psychopath in Revenant, - but we already knew that. Hardy's ability to play violent, unstable men have by now been established to the point where his great performance here as one more also becomes semi-comical to me. (Remember Bronson (2008), Warrior, Lawless (2012), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) or Legend (2015), for instance...?) Revenant suffers a bit from the same overwrought ominousness that plagued Dark Knight Rises. There is a lack of let-up, of contrast, levity or calm.
In a supporting part, Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)) gives another impressive performance. This Irish actor is among the most exciting shooting stars at the moment.
Revenant is technically incredible, - especially the battle scene in the beginning, - and it becomes a rousing, violent adcenture.

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Iñárritu with DiCaprio on the set of The Revenant

Watch the trailer for the film with German and French subtitles here

Cost: 135 mil. $
Box office: 224.9 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[Glass' story was adapted before, in Man in the Wilderness (1971). Development began in 2001. The production went way over budget, (it was supposed to be a 60 mil. $ film) and months over schedule: Filming took from October 2014 - August 2015 in the US, Canada and Argentina. Hardy had to drop out of Suicide Squad (2016) for the film, thereby losing a part as another homicidal maniac I'm sure, (damn!...) It was an exhausting shoot also due to Iñárritu's insisting on shooting only using natural light and chronologically, although Hardy has claimed that this wasn't possible. Several crew members were fired or quit. Revenant had a 39.8 mil. $ first wide weekend in North America, # 2 behind Star Wars VII. It was #1 two weeks later, and was also #1 abroad collectively. It is the top-nominated film for the Oscars in February with 12 nominations. It is likely to become a commercial success within the next couple of months. The Revenant is certified fresh at 82 % with an 8 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Revenant?