Valkyrie

Based on the true story, Tom Cruise stars as Colonel von Stauffenberg - a wounded Nazi soldier who isn’t very happy fighting for Hitler anymore. Once he returns from North Africa, von Stauffenberg is recruited to join a secret group of political and military leaders who don’t support Hitler and have been trying to assassinate him to re-claim power and end World War II. von Stauffenberg’s strategy is to change the Valkyrie plan, which is in place to secure Germany in the event of a coup or civil unrest. Of course, von Stauffenberg wants to create that unrest by killing Hitler, and using the military to round up of all his Nazi supporters as everyone jockeys for power.

Will von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators find success?

SPOILER ALERT - No, they do not succeed (I know that because I have watched the History Channel once or twice in my life).

Valkyrie gets off to a slow start as writers Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander as well as director Bryan Singer don’t try to build up some intrigue and don’t give us much detail about the plan. All of that is secondary, when it could have taken center stage and gotten us intellectually excited. Instead, we get stuck with all sorts of angst because von Stauffenberg is worried about what will become of his family (Boo Hoo). We don’t need that angle, and, once it is dropped, Valkyrie is better for it. Then, Cruise starts the movie with a German accent, which disappears as soon as he starts speaking English. Even more confusing, a couple of the Germans have German accents, while many others are British actors with no accent even close to German. What’s up with that?

However, once the plan is put in motion, Singer does a very good job keeping the tension and mystery alive, even when you know the ending. The audience is kept on the edge of their seats as von Stauffenberg tries to maneuver in to get to Hitler, escape to Berlin, and lead the military forces as mayhem and doubt are the order of the day. Singer keeps the audience in suspense waiting for the inevitable moment when the conspirators will be captured, and we have to wonder how it will all fall apart. It’s almost like Valkyrie had a Red Bull mid way through as everything is kicked up a notch.

Valkyrie is far from the possible colossal bomb it could have been. It’s good enough.

Valkyrie is rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language.