Is That A Bomb In Your Briefcase, Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

Rating: 9/10 (8 November 2011)

The best compliment I can give Valkyrie is that it is so well-made that it makes you actually believe for a moment that they might actually pull it off. Then reality hits back and you realize this will all end badly. That up-and-down of emotions perfectly fits Valkyrie and makes it one of the best thrillers in recent memory. It features one of the juiciest casts ever assembled in a modern film - Tom Cruise, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Tom Wilkinson, Ian McNeice and Carice Van Houten are just some of the standouts in a solid gathering of actors. There are an infinite number of amazing but true stories that came out of WWII and this is definitely in the top ten for sure. Christian Berkel's bomb expert Colonel has the best line of the film: "Any problem on Earth can be solved with the careful application of high explosives. The trick is not to be around when they go off." Words to live by...