VALKYRIE
Starring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Terrance Stamp, and Eddie Izzard
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language
By John Delia
I just couldn’t get into Valkyrie and what bothered me most were the ineffective acting and the valueless plot. If you are interested in an attempt on the life of Hitler or are a historian on WWII you may get some value from the film.
There is not much to say about the film without giving most of it away. Valkyrie is a true story in which several officers of the German Military get together and carry out an attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler, the Chancelor of Germany who perpetuated the war against Europe in the late 1930’s up until his demise in 1945. The most obvious reason for this attack on him (many attempts were made on his life during his dictatorship) was that Germany was loosing and some of his main military leaders were looking for a way to negotiate their surrender, rather than an ultimate no deal defeat.
The film goes something like this. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) an officer of the Third Reich agrees to a plan to stop Hitler before Germany is destroyed by the impending invasion of the country. With the help of other German officers wary of Hitler’s war, von Stauffenberg gains acceptance by the German inner circle of officers closest to Hitler. During a secret meetin, von Stauffenberg unleashes the plan to take down the German despot.
Not one of the actors playing the parts of the German officers is believable in the film. Cruise, although battle scared, doesn’t act desperate enough to face such a huge icon as Hitler, let alone the Fuhrer’s half crazed inner circle of officers. We know from all accounts that the incident did happen. But, even if it was as easy as depicted in the film to gain entrance to the site of the attack, it is hard to believe that the Gestapo was so amateurish in the escape. Having said this about the acting, I must say however, David Bamber who plays the Fuhrer does a great job doubling for the despicable man.
If this event in history does intrigue you, there were several films and TV productions made on the subject matter that I enjoyed a lot better including The Plot to Kill Hitler starring Brad Davis and the 2004 film Operation Valkyrie: The Stauffenberg Plot to Kill Hitler which is more of a docudrama where they show a lot of actual footage of the dictator and photos of the scene.
Valkyrie is Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language. The film runs about 2 hours.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you like war films that are more drama than action, this film may fit the bill. (2 of 5 stars)