illustrations

Rating: Null/10 (21 July 2009)

I didn't find anything here that i wasn't expecting, and nothing i expected to be here was absent. This is a bad premise to commenting on a movie. The thing is, i don't expect much of Bryan Singer. Yes, he gave us "usual suspects" which has some narrative interest in how the flashbacks are used and in how we redefine all that we'd seen with the final twist. But even there the direction was stylish, which means he chose effect over meaning, appearance over flesh. But clearly he is one of those guys who gets carried away by his immense enthusiasm, but than doesn't have the brain to bend his emotions to a coherent structure. Like him, so do think most of the common film goers, especially those who would flock to a movie like this. So, we have a box office success.
But if you want to go further, you'll find very little to interest you here. The one thing that matters is the story itself. What these guys tried to make was big, not because of the act in itself (certainly many Germans would want to do the same if they could) but because they were privileged Germans, who could just play the Nazi game. Of course by than the end of the war was close and they felt that, so killing Hitler might also be a way to protect the future of those who were around him. In any case, it was a brave attempt. But that can be told by a simple documentary, like the one in the extras of this DVD. The film is a mere illustration of the events. It's like those re enactments of historical facts in the History channel docs, with a (much) higher budget. But apart from that it is pretty useless, except for a minor entertainment value.
Well, the writers tried to build on the tension by not allowing us to understand or check Hitler after the bomb exploded. That tension is mildly well done, because it elects a narrator, it makes us live the lives of the dissidents. But we knew what had happened, so even that fails.
After the incredible participation of Cruise in Tropic Thunder, i would expect he would keep redeeming his career, but here he goes back to his usual numb thing. Pity.
If you go for "realistic" sets and good illustrations, i think this will do it perfectly for you. If not, i think you can skip it.
My opinion: 2/5
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