Valkyrie

If you read any movie sites/blogs, you probably didn't have exceedingly high hopes for Valkyrie, Tom Cruise and Bryan Singer's WWII film about Claus von Stauffenberg, the man who committed the most significant attempt on die Führer, Adolf Hitler's life. There was a flurry of bad press a month or two ago, ranging from extras suing the studio due to injuries, an edited picture of the real von Stauffenberg used in a media comparison with Tom Cruise, Germany's Finance Ministry denying filming privileges, and even Claus von Stauffenberg's son objecting to Cruise portraying his father.

The movie seems to have powered through, though, to a relatively successful opening on Christmas day. I've read reviews that the movie is somewhat factually inaccurate, but then again, that's why it says based on a true story. Apparently von Stauffenberg actually did support Nazi ideals, and only later sought to usurp Hitler mostly due to his inefficiency during wartime. Important to note for general knowledge, but as far as the film goes, it's obviously contorted a bit to make most associated parties seem a bit more noble and correct in their views. And who knows, maybe their reasons truly were noble; these things often become more and more gray throughout the years. The movie doesn't show or even mention anything in von Stauffenberg's life before talks of Operation Valkyrie begin, so it works out pretty conveniently.

Now, Tom Cruise is practically a pariah outside of Hollywood at this point, further alienating himself from normal people through his Scientological endeavors. But that doesn't stop him from consistently churning out quality performances (with the exception of Tropic Thunder -- wtf? Well, I guess he knows better than me how studio heads act.) The same holds true for Valkyrie. Sure, he was a little robotic, but that's pretty much the role the movie called for. The movie, not the story. I was extremely put off at first at Cruise's lack of AT LEAST a German accent, but they kinda made it work with the movie, starting out the narration in German with subtitles, which quickly fades to Cruise speaking English.

As far as the actual movie goes, I was pretty impressed. They do a good job of portraying how historically significant this whole plot was, and an even better job at making the movie adequately tense and intense. The supporting cast performed perhaps equally as Cruise, if not better, and most of the high ranking German officials are played by familiar faces (to adults, at least). I loved how the movie seemed like it was filmed in a past era, giving it a softened, warm feel.

I thought that this movie would be a letdown, but I honestly loved this movie. It played out perfectly, and, factually accurate or not, it's a damned remarkable story. I don't think it marks a return for Tom Cruise to his legendary status, but it's undeniably a step in the right direction.

6/7