I Shall Render Unconditional Obedience To Hitler

Rating: 5/10 (28 June 2014)

Oh, swell - A twitchy, doddering "Hitler" with a thick British accent, and the "Stauffenberg" character using his glass eyeball as a calling card, toying with said eyeball as if it were some sort of therapy bead, and then, later, saluting a "Heil, Hitler!" with his stump.
These are the sorts of "special" touches added to VALKYRIE's story (courtesy of director Bryan Singer) that lost this film some major points, from my perspective.
With all of the attention to detail and all of the focus on WW2 authenticity that was carefully put into this film, it really annoyed me, big time, that no attempt was made by any of the actors to even try to "fake" a German accent.
If this lot of actors were really supposed to be some of the "greats", then they certainly could've made some sort of effort to muster a "German" sound in their voices. Like, weren't this bunch paid enough to master that one, little detail? 'Cause I think that it would've surely helped immensely with the overall believability of VALKYRIE's story.
I'm guessing that it all came down to Tom Cruise (who still being nothing but a talentless, little, pretty-boy) sounded so moronic when he tried to speak with a German accent, that, since he couldn't do it, then the whole deal was completely scrapped on the matter for one, and all.
As lush a production as VALKYRIE was, I found, in the long run, that it was far too stagy. Way too often, there seemed to be no natural movement happening with any of the actors. Their overall actions all seemed to be stiff and unnatural, as if director Bryan Singer, had placed each one of then, just so, on his own little "X" on the set and then ordered them not to move, even an inch.
I know that the intentions of this film were probably meant well, but, unfortunately, VALKYRIE's story, about high treason, conspiracy, and betrayal, set during WW2 in Germany, left a lot to be desired.
Yes, Back in 1944 Hitler may have been the arch-enemy of the world, but the way that he was presented here in VALKYRIE, as a literal fumbling and feeble non-entity, I would've never believed that for a single, solitary minute.
As far as WW2 pictures go, VALKYRIE was good, but, definitely, not great film-making.