Really Surprised!

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Another reviewer stated that this is more of an adolescent way of displaying war. And I would agree that this in no way can hold its own against the heavyweights of war movies. But if you look at it for what it is (entertainment, low budget), it does fulfill its purpose overall in doing what is sets out to do.Germans are bad, Brits are great and other "obvious" things like that are on display here. But it's the theme and the easy way out. Also while based on real war, this is still a movie. I didn't think I would watch a history documentary and no one else should feel or think that way. If you can wrap your head around that, the movie is pretty decent

First off, I'm not a fan of war films. So coming at this independent film with that attitude, the film has a hurdle to get over. And happily it achieves it. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The films is at its best when focusing on the relationships between the core group. There is real chemistry between the group which is a miracle to achieve on independent films. Best sequence is the ambush sequence in the middle of the film. Tense, exciting and really well filmed. Budgets are something that not all films have an abundance off, but this gets those things right that money can't buy.

The people that say this movie is "sensational" are obviously connected with it somehow. Or they should have their IMDb review privileges suspended. That being said, the movie isn't all that bad, especially for those of us that crave any new World War II movies we can get our hands on. Most of the problems are technical. It looks like much of the film went straight from the video camera to the final cut without any processing in between. It needed a much better cinematographer.Many of the special effects were a little rough including some mortar hits or mines or something that looked like an air cannon or fire extinguisher shooting up out of the ground.The other comments about the movie needing a better military adviser are spot on. Some of the tactics in the movie are not seen in any other film. Like keeping your men grouped really tightly as you move through the woods and fields. Or standing in a long "civil war-esque" line while you fire your weapons.But I did not regret watching this movie and recommended it to my father who is also a WWII movie buff. You could do far worse.

Writer & director Dominic Burns and co-scenarist Jeremy Sheldon must have watched director Brian G. Hutton's "Where Eagles Dare" (1968) when they scripted their secret mission World War II movie "Allies." Although the Burns & Sheldon screenplay, with "Riot" scribe James Crow receiving story credit, bears a great deal of resemblance to the Alistair MacLean penned "Where Eagles Dare, "Allies" isn't a comparable tour-de-force thriller. Nevertheless, this low-budget wartime actioneer delivers the goods in spades when a lone American officer commanding of group of seasoned British commandos plunge behind enemy lines on the eve of the Battle of the Bulge to create havoc. Like "Where Eagles Dare," a saboteur lurks in the wings while our guys set out to relieve a German officer of his map pouch so they can find out where the big guns are station. Happily, the British aren't too taken with an American leading them, but Brigadier General Groves (Steve Hartley of "Split Second") points out to the reluctant English that Americans concocted the plan. Unfortunately, the U.S. Rangers are otherwise preoccupied with other critical concerns, so the best resource turns out to be the British. Initially, the British encounter difficulties getting along with their leader, Captain Gabriel Jackson (Julian Ovenden of "The Forsyte Saga"), but they manage to resolve their differences. They find themselves up to their ears in Germans, and sometimes the Germans get the upper hand. Burns paints his heroes into a corner and springs several surprises, particularly with regard to the saboteur. The chief debit of "Allies" is that the objective that they seek is just maps, but the enemy does pose a genuine threat. The two guys who have little use for each other, Jackson and Sergeant Harry McBain (Chris Reilly of "Game of Thrones"), resolve their differences under gunfire. Burns stages several decent action scenes, and the cast is sturdy enough. "Allies" ranks as an above-average World War II actioneer in a budget.