Tom Cruise stars as a high ranking German officer, who along with a small group of peers hatches a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in an attempt to end the war.
High calibre World War II suspense thriller based on a true story, Bryan 'X-Men' Singer's 'Valkyrie' sees decorated Nazi officer; Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg (a brilliant, understated performance by Tom Cruise) hatch a plot to assassinate Hitler in a bid to save Germany from collapse. 'Valkyrie' plays out like a parable for an America that failed to stand up to its own little Hilters and has, thus far, staggered and spluttered its way towards ruin in an ever-rising torrent of blood. I got over the multitude of accents quicker than expected, for the film moves at such a pace that you forget Cruise is acting in American or that all the top Nazis are Brits. Cruise's opening voiceover has him move from German to English, in a smooth linguistic transition that's similar in direction to the Norse to English changeover in John McTiernan's 'The 13th Warrior'. Col. Von Stauffenberg is moved to action after losing a hand and his eye in an allied air strike over Tunisia, his malaise and disillusionment exacerbated by the pointless activity of distributing medals to wounded comrades in a veteran's hospital, coupled with a realisation of how his young family are affected by Heer Wolf's imperial megalomania. Sent home to Europe and recruited by high ranking Nazi officers who've tried, and failed, to kill the fuehrer; Von Stauffenberg adopts his pragmatic militarism to change the face of the conspiracy, unify its members and organise a viable, post-Hitler strategy. He soon discovers that for some men, such as Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Brannagh) the assassination plan is a cri de coeur to show the world that "Not all of us were like him", others like General Erich Fellgiebel (Eddie Izzard) and General Friedrich Fromm (Tom Wilkinson) are extremely reluctant participants whilst General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy) shuns responsibility and compromises a phase of operations by literally being out to lunch. Valkyrie's ensemble acting is second to none, as a sterling cast bring this compelling story to life in a narrative blitzkrieg of political machinations and furious, intentionally frustrating, near misses. Bald as a coot, brass balled bomb maker Colonel Mertz von Quirnheim (Christian Berkel) shines alongside a well sourced supporting cast which includes Thomas Kretschmann (whose Major Otto Ernst Remer provides some unexpected laughs) Clarice van Houten of 'Black Book' fame as Nina von Stauffenberg, a stoic Terence Stamp is chief conspirator Ludwig Beck, 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' baddie Tom Hollander as Colonel Heinz Brandt and Brit TV thesp David Bamber, who provides a memorable take on Hitler, playing him like a German Woody Allen; pacing around 'The Wolf's Lair' and mumbling some barely coherent drivel about the Valkyries of myth & legend. There are times when Singer's movie resembles 'Day Of The Jackal' meets 'Mission: Impossible', but to leave it at that would be unfair, for 'Valkyrie' is historical drama at its best: well acted, tense and thrilling with a captivating storyline, wonderful cinematography and a focused, well paced script: an achievement in every sense of the word; especially since we already know how it ends.
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Based on a the true story of a cadre of Nazi officers who grew to oppose Hitler's murderous pursuits and made several attempts to kill him in the late stages of WWII, VALKYRIE features a top-flight cast, with drama and suspense in equal measure. The film is a stylistic departure for director Bryan Singer (X-MEN, X2) and star Tom Cruise, with a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie (THE USUAL SUSPECTS) and Nathan Alexander that is constructed like a heist film, with a team of like-minded men coming together for a common purpose and facing incredible odds. It is 1943, and though he has come to be disgusted by Hitler's campaign of evil, Count Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) has risen to the level of lieutenant colonel in the German army. Convinced that Hitler must die, Von Stauffenberg requests a transfer to Tunisia, where he loses his left eye and right hand during an Allied air raid. Falling in with a group of similarly disillusioned officers including Major General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh), General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy), General Friedrich Fromm (Tom Wilkinson), and Colonel General Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp), Stauffenberg is at the centre of several attempts on Der Fuhrer's life, culminating in a bombing that kills a handful of his officers and leaves Hitler only slightly injured. Though advance photos of Cruise in Nazi uniform brought VALKYRIE negative publicity, his restrained performance is at the heart of this well-crafted, thinking person's action movie. He is bolstered by an incredible British cast including Branagh, Stamp, and Wilkinson, and by the film's dazzling art direction. Though it's a story to which viewers should already know the ending, Singer still creates ample suspense. The result is a taut and effective historical thriller.
Tom Cruise and Kenneth Branagh star in this World War II suspense thriller. At the height of the war, a group of high-ranking German officers, including Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise), Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Branagh) and General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy), hatched a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler (David Bamber) and seize power of the military command in order to end the war and make peace with Allied forces. The operation, codenamed 'Valkyrie', was modified by the conspirators to ensure its success, but for various reasons the plot failed when finally carried out on 20 July 1944, and the conspirators of the inner circle were summarily executed following a kangaroo trial.
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