Shadow in the Cloud

Everything I heard about Shadow in the Cloud made it seem absolutely bonkers so, of course, I wanted to see it!  I had the chance last night and it was so much fun!  During World War II, Flight Officer Maude Garrett (Chloe Grace Moretz) is on a secret mission with a mysterious package that she must guard at all costs.  She catches a ride on an Allied B-17 bomber flying from New Zealand to Samoa and the male crew (Taylor John Smith, Beulah Koale, Nick Robinson, Callan Mulvey, Benedict Wall, Joe Witkowski, and Byron Coll) take great exception to having a woman on board.  They force her into the gun turret during takeoff where she hears their misogynistic comments about her over the radio.  She confronts them but they soon question both her identity and her mission.  They completely disregard her when she tells them that she sees a shadow on the wing but they are, in fact, being attacked by both Japanese bombers and winged mythological creatures which she must then fight in order to save them.  At first I thought the inclusion of the creatures was crazy, even though I was willing to suspend my disbelief in order to enjoy the movie, but I did a little bit of research and it actually does make sense within the context of World War II and they serve as a metaphor for Maude.  What I really liked about this movie is that the men are so dismissive of Maude (with some of the most cringe-worthy dialogue imaginable) but she is the one who shoots down two zeros, fights several creatures, and crash lands the plane (in some thrilling, if unrealistic, action sequences).  She proves that she is just as capable of fighting as the men (the end credits include photos of real female pilots during World War II) which is all the more powerful when the crew learns the contents of her mysterious package.  Moretz, who is hit or miss with me, is fully committed to the physicality of the role and gives a campy performance that is a lot of fun to watch.  It is as bonkers as I predicted but, if you can just go along with everything that is happening on screen, you will have a blast with this movie!  I recommend seeing it on a Friday night (the later the better) with a big tub of popcorn!

Note:  This reminded me of Overlord because they both combine World War II intrigue with elements of horror and I liked them both more than I thought I would!