Release Date:
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Directed by: Bryan Singer
The Skinny: Based on true events, Valkyrie dramatizes the formation and execution of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler led by a disillusioned German army Colonel, Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise).
The Good: Despite the bad buzz you may have heard, Singer has crafted a pretty decent potboiler despite, you know, history being all loaded with spoilers and shit (bonus points for the clever way he eases the audience from German subtitles into spoken Englishlike saying, "Ok, from this point on, just pretend everyone's speaking German.") Cruise is perfectly tense and stoic as Stauffenberg, and the support cast (especially Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, and Eddie Izzard) is rock solid. It's also a unique story that takes a look at WWII from the German side, and presents them as not just as a bunch of brain-washed cultists.
The Bad: This is a rare film that actually starts weaker than it ends. The first half of the movie kind of breezes along like a History Channel re-enactment, before things really get rolling. Characters and motives are introduced matter-of-factly, like we were suppose to know all of this already. A few of the characters that might have held some interest (Stauffenberg's wife, maybe?) are kind of lazily written off.
Kraut Solo: Amid Valkyrie's collection of American, British, and Dutch actors there is one actual German: Thomas Kretschmann. You'll remember him as the steamboat captain in King Kong and one of the assassins in Wanted.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Despite its slow start, Valkyrie is a riveting movie that's worth your theater time. Who doesn't need a little Fuhrer this holiday season?
The Skinny: Based on true events, Valkyrie dramatizes the formation and execution of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler led by a disillusioned German army Colonel, Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise).
The Good: Despite the bad buzz you may have heard, Singer has crafted a pretty decent potboiler despite, you know, history being all loaded with spoilers and shit (bonus points for the clever way he eases the audience from German subtitles into spoken Englishlike saying, "Ok, from this point on, just pretend everyone's speaking German.") Cruise is perfectly tense and stoic as Stauffenberg, and the support cast (especially Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, and Eddie Izzard) is rock solid. It's also a unique story that takes a look at WWII from the German side, and presents them as not just as a bunch of brain-washed cultists.
The Bad: This is a rare film that actually starts weaker than it ends. The first half of the movie kind of breezes along like a History Channel re-enactment, before things really get rolling. Characters and motives are introduced matter-of-factly, like we were suppose to know all of this already. A few of the characters that might have held some interest (Stauffenberg's wife, maybe?) are kind of lazily written off.
Kraut Solo: Amid Valkyrie's collection of American, British, and Dutch actors there is one actual German: Thomas Kretschmann. You'll remember him as the steamboat captain in King Kong and one of the assassins in Wanted.
Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Despite its slow start, Valkyrie is a riveting movie that's worth your theater time. Who doesn't need a little Fuhrer this holiday season?