Valkyrie
Sometimes in this world there are stories that NEED to be told, even if (unfortunately) the execution of said story is not really up to par. Thus is the case with this 2008 release, timed to coincide with the Oscar race but instead being found to not be exactly worthy of that distinction, especially in the hands of comic book movie specialist Bryan Singer, good at creating action scenes but not nearly as proficient at capturing real-life drama. The film tells the story of Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg, a German soldier injured in battle who has come to despise the Hitler regime and all that goes with it, and is recruited by some like-minded German military officials to conceive and carry out a plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler himself, whereupon afterwards they would use the contingency plan of the German army to seize control and imprison the SS command. In some ways this recalls the plot of Quentin Tarantinoâs Inglourious Basterds (only this story is actually true), and the obvious way Singer pales to Tarantino is the latterâs superior ability to humanize soldiers in Nazi Germany mostly through Quentinâs insistence on strict authenticity, employing German actors who actually speak GERMAN to each other with a liberal use of subtitles. Unfortunately Singer employs mostly British actors to play the various German high command, and worse (through a cheap ploy used in the opening scene), has them all speak the proper Queenâs English to each other, complete with haughty Brit accents, which in many ways negates the contribution of such noted thespians as Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Terence Stamp. And THEN there is the issue of Tom Cruise as Von Stauffenberg, speaking in a plain American accent without even a hint of trying to sound German and sticking out like a sore thumb, thus making it seem like the refusal to even hire a dialect coach for these accomplished actors coming across as creative cowardice on Singerâs part. That being said, as stated previously this is STILL an important film and a lasting cinematic tribute to Von Stauffenberg himself, a man who has been elevated to near-sainthood in modern day Germany but was still widely unknown outside its borders until this film was released. The amazing thing is not just how many attempts were made on Hitlerâs life from the inside, but just how damn close Von Stauffenberg got to actually finishing the job, succeeding in blowing a bomb in Hitlerâs presence with the Fuhrer surviving only through sheer dumb luck. The massive flaw in the plan obviously was that of Von Stauffenberg spreading himself a little too thin, in that he charged himself with both planting the bomb and then having to fly back to Germany to coordinate the effort to take over the country before receiving the very bad news that Adolf had survived. Nonetheless, the man had to be commended for having balls, and Cruise if nothing else brings movie star presence to the part that in a strange way serves as a tribute to the man despite the eschewing of a proper accent. Singer brings some tedium to the proceedings (as with his X-Men movies) by showing several members of the rebellion arguing things out pointlessly, but at least David Bamber (a British actor who DOES use a German accent) brings some creepy points to the table as Hitler himself, a man so warped, depraved, and obsessed with âclean livingâ that several German soldiers are shown hastily putting out cigarettes before being graced with his presence in one scene. And as far as the ending goes, which everyone pretty much knows in advance, it lacks the emotional impact of Basterds but does fill the viewer with a deep sense of pride, not to mention faith in the human condition, that these particular soldiers saw their evil tyrant leader for what he was and at least tried to put a stop to it while sacrificing their lives in the process. In the end, while being far from perfect, a movie that nonetheless I am still glad was actually madeâŚ
7/10