Valkyrie (2008)
Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.
Intense WWII drama about German Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (played by Tom Cruise) and his involvement in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Fine performances and a good pace can't fully compensate for the fact that the movie brings a foregone conclusion, and thus little suspense.
This movie was great all-around. It had good casting, was historically accurate, and an all-around greatly executed story line. The only bad thing is how they did not sport German accents, but who cares about accents? That would just be a waste of time.
Based on a true story, this movie is about a proud military man, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who is a loyal officer and serves Germany happily, all the while hoping that his plan to kill Hitler will work and also hoping that it will happen before Germany and Europe are destroyed.
You can tell that this movie is good and well put together because it is 2 hrs. long but it only seemed to be about an hour and a half, so the film moves along very smoothly. The opening action scene is very intriguing as is the story from almost start to finish. Also, a lot of other critics are ripping on Tom Cruise's performace as he plays the charecter who is in charge of the plan to kill Hitler (Claus von Stauffenberg). They're saying that he is annoying, ruins every scene that he is in, and they're mad that he nor any of the other cast has a german accent. First of all, I thought Tom Cruise did a good and powerful job playing a true charecter that is hard to figure out. Secondly, even if the cast tried to put in a German accent, instead of screwing it up, they made a good move by keeping everything in their natural accents.
This movie definately doesn't end on a happy note. Eventhough the film tells us that Hitler eventually killed himself, why can't we see that on screen so the audience can have somewhat of a happy ending. Instead, the movie ends in a sort of bland way. I don't think i have ever seen any Hitler movie where it actually shows Hitler killing himself on screen. They almost always show the good people getting tortured and killed, but never Hitler. Also, did you notice i said "the story is intriguing from ALMOST start to finish"? Well, that's because there are a few scenes in this movie that drag on as Stauffenberg and his group just keep talking about how they're going to kill Hitler. Just do it already!
Overall, Valkrie is good, well edited, and well put together. The music is great and and adds to the intensity and good dialouge throughout the film, especially towards the end. This is not a chick flick though, but there is no doubt that history buffs will love Valkyrie.
Valkyrie
In between my bite of buttery popcorn, and a quick sip of Sierra Mist, I looked up at the movie screen to see “the following events are true,†preceding the title, written across the screen. It was that one little line, among the many, that replayed in my mind throughout all the danger the men of the July 20 assassination plot endured.
My expectation for the movie was simple. There would be an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler’s life, it would fail, and Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg would die in the end because that’s just the Nazi Party’s style when it comes to people who stand in there way. What I didn’t expect from this movie was the intensity throughout the movie. Not only was there intensity in the dangerous scenes, where you were continually questioning if this was the moment when the brave men would perish. But, this movie also portrayed excellently the intensity the people had in there loyalty to Hitler. From the very beginning of the movie, when people are heard chanting their obedience to being loyal and dedicated soldiers to Germany and the Nazis, we see a very different view of Adolf Hitler aside from the one that is so commonly associated with him. Today, his name is usually linked with extreme evil and cruelty, which can make one wonder how his people remained faithful to him. This movie shows how the Nazis were able to maintain such a strong control over such an extensive regime. We can see that Hitler’s power was rooted in the “willing obedience†of the government organizations that reported to him. Also, this movie opens up to us that not all Germans of this time era should be stereotyped, as they are today, with having been in full support of all of the Nazi’s actions. Instead, the movie recognizes that even a select few people, in positions that should have been most loyal of all to the actions of Hitler, felt different from the rest of the majority of the population.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who has an interest in looking beyond the traditional stereotypes of Germany during World War II, and delve deeper into the true inter-workings of the Nazi Party. I think this movie should be seen by people who are willing to recognize that even though there were extreme amounts of evil originating from the Nazi leaders, and Adolf Hitler himself. There were also the good, like Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who resisted that evil and fought for what they believed was morally good. Many citizens were against the harsh actions of the German government during World War II, but they were too frightened (and with good reason) to take any action against it. It is the bravery in the men who took part in the July 20 assassinations plot of Adolf Hitler that should be noted for future generations, and I am very pleased with the way that is portrayed to audiences in the movie Valkyrie.
-KH
At first, I fell asleep. I'm not going to lie. I was just really tired and this movie wasn't keeping me awake. When I started watching it, there was no way I could even blink. I didn't want to miss a SECOND of it. It was amazing and it really explained a lot of things that people don't ever think about. I would recommend it to anyone. It is worth the money and time.
I must admit I'm not a hugh Tom Cruise fan. But he keeps making these dam good movies. His comic role in "Tropic Thunder" was classic,and now this. Considering the garbage that most movies are lately,we can count on Tom to give us a flick that's worth the price of admission. I loved this movie.
At The Movies
Valkyrie (PG) * * *
Target A Madman!
By ROBERT WALDMAN
Lots of movies have come out recently about Germany. Numerous films currently in release chronicle the Holocaust and the genocide perpetrated against the Jews. Trust megastar Tom Cruise to come up with an untold story about Germany during this era that seems perfectly tailored for the screen. Experience a dynamic suspense story layered with behind the scenes manipulations with Valkyrie, a jarring adaptation of a real event now unraveling at Tinseltown (on Pender, free parking), Esplanade 6, Empire Studio 12, Colossus and Famous Players Silver City cites across B.C.
War is hell. No one relishes the thought of putting one’s life on the line no matter how idealistic the cause. Deep inside Germany while Hitler cut a swathe of brutal victories across Europe while exterminating his own “undesirable†minorities a group of well-intentioned men decided to challenge that supreme authority. Under extreme secrecy this group cobbled together a plan to kill the Fuhrer.
Leave nothing to chance may have been the motto of these men but naturally nothing always goes as planned. Enter Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg. Smart and young this career officer seemed to have everything going his way. Early on we see how a shattering event changed Stauffenberg’s life and how he would come to head this covert operation to rid the world of a dictator.
Forget about all the hysteria concerning Tom Cruise’s person life that came to the fore in 2007. Here Cruise deserves credit for carefully crafting a riveting tale of how a group of men and women took it onto themselves to make the world a better place. Top performances from Terrence Stamp (Get Smart), Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins), Kenneth Branagh (Wild, Wild West) and Bill Night (Hot Fuzz), makes Valkyrie rock.
Director Bryan Singer (X-Men) knows his way around big action packed blockbusters. Here Singer concentrates on bringing us an engrossing atmosphere revolving around Hitler and he creates great tension with the efforts to do the madman in. Even thought these largely British actors are playing German officers with bad accents this minor quibble takes little away from the film’s re-enactment of a historical event that few of us knew about, especially those living in the west.
Give Tom Cruise (Risky Business) credit for taking on this project which should again renew his stock as a bonafide film star of the highest order, someoner who is willing to take chances and not get pigeon-holed into your standard movie star vehicles.
Read more reviews by Robert at www.moviereviewssite.com
This movie tells an incredible story of some amazingly heroic people, and I was completely engaged. Tom Cruise was great, but I think Tom Wilkinson stole the movie with his performance. The last 30 minutes had me at the edge of my seat, and I almost fell over. The end was deeply sad and moving. Go see this movie.
