Review: Valkyrie (2008)

Director: Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X2, Superman Returns)

Cast: Tom Cruise (Mission:Impossible, Jerry Maguire, Minority Report), Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean), Tom Wilkinson (In  the Bedroom, Michael Clayton), Eddie Izzard (The Riches), Terence Stamp (Yes Man, Smallville), Jamie Parker, David Bamber 

The Deal: Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) is afraid that Europe and Germany will be destroyed if someone doesn't kill Hitler (Bamber). He joins a resistance alongside General Friedrich Olbricht (Nighy), General Ludwig Beck (Stamp), and his adjutant Lieutenanat Werner von Haeften (Parker), and devises a plan to alter Operation Valkyrie, Hitler's emergency continuity of government plan, and then kill Hitler to siege control and save Sacred Germany.

Thoughts: The film is based on the real-life actions of Stauffenberg, and does a good job of providing great pace and tension. Even at his height of power, some of Hitler's own countrymen felt he had gone too far and needed to be stopped, and I really enjoyed watching it all unfold on screen. Despite knowing that their attempt at assassination would fail, the film really keeps you tied in and hoping that they can pull it all off.

Ever since Cruise started all his hysterics and scientology ramblings, I've really been turned off by all of his performances, including this one. Thankfully for the film, the rest of the cast does an excellent job, one that completely overshadows my feelings towards Cruise. Despite their commitment to the cause they view justified and necessary, the actors all mixed just the right amount of fear into their performances, and it made their characters so much more believable.

The one thing that nagged at me the whole film, and it's not something the film is at fault for, is that I don't understand how they couldn't pull of a kill. Stauffenberg was repeatedly within arms reach of Hitler, and instead of devising a plan involving sneaking a gun in to do the job, they devise a more complicated plan that relies on too many variables. If they really were committed to stopping Hitler, and were willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause, it would have been a hell of a lot easier to die putting a bullet in Hitler's head, and then letting the rest of the plan follow.

Verdict: Cruise is overshadowed by the rest of the cast to the benefit of the film, and it has a compelling and entertaining story. It's well worth a rental. ☆☆☆1/2