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.
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