Swap the name Hitler with Lex Luthor and you have yourself a thrilling ride.

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2009)

When it comes to World War II, there are undoubtedly a myriad of different stories to be told, whether from the front-lines of the war itself or from those left back home. It goes without saying then that such an entertainment industry which thrives upon compelling situations thriving with drama and action would be foolish not to capitalise on such a historical, iconic and memorable piece of history which was, regrettably, brimming with such qualities. Such has been Hollywood's claim for many a year now, throwing out broad examples of tales from the front-lines of war, some which do justice to the horrors of those years, some of which only seem to belittle.
Valkyrie then, with its stars and creators rooted in popcorn fodder action movies at first comes off more aligned to the latter. It's sophomoric in its historical significance; facile, kitsch and watered down for the sake of telling a thrilling story and yet if taken strictly on a fictional base, at least does so formidably. On this ground I feel somewhat divided; on the one hand Valkyrie uses it's "true story" to evoke feelings from the audience that a film dealing with fabricated events (although, one could argue McQuarrie & Alexander's script to be more a work of fairytale than fact) would have to establish from the ground up; and yet there's also the undeniable truth that Singer and co do a brilliant job of telling a compelling and well constructed story full of high tension action and suspense. In the end, I had to let go my reservations for Valyrie's attempt at providing a historical account set to enlighten and instead imagine I was watching Mission Impossible set in 1940's Germany.
Whether or not this evokes any reaction from audiences is a matter of speculation only on the part of myself, but I really can't see it irking much more viewers any more than it did myself. Granted, during the first act of the feature I was troubled with Tom Cruise and his über-Americano stature- which in turn negates any sense of engrossment within the story's supposed deep rooted truth- yet as the movie goes on and things begin to be put in place, Valkyrie moves on from caricature impressionism into an engaging form of entertainment; the historical backing in turn becomes redundant, and sure, this spoils the aforementioned pre-connection to the story itself, but swap the name Hitler with Lex Luthor and you have yourself a thrilling ride regardless of all the uniforms and salutes.
So who then is our Superman- our Ethan Hunt perhaps? Well of course that comes in form of Tom Cruise under the guise of Claus von Stauffenberg, a colonel disillusioned by Hitler's war. Opening the feature with perhaps its only reel of German dialogue, Stauffenberg ridicules Hitler's war and demeans it to the point of embarrassment; there's no denying that this colonel isn't alone, and that's exactly what Valkyrie sets out to explore. From here the movie attempts to convey the idea that not all Germans were saluting national socialists bending to the whim of their Führer; indeed, there were many who directly opposed his reign and wanted him stripped of control- to free Germany of Hitler would mean freeing his people of absolute disaster in the eyes of their opposed forces. It's no surprise then that much of Valkyrie dabbles in and out of the building cascade of rebellion from those initiating the now infamous "Valkyrie" operation, detailing the intrinsic planning and implementation required to pull such an attempt to assassinate and cut off the head of Germany's war machine.
For the most part, particularly throughout the movie's latter acts, Valkyrie tells a compelling and rigorous story of espionage and political plotting; the tension riding high during the movie's biggest scenes- some of which providing excellent visuals complementing the bubbling suspense underneath. Granted, there are many instances which only work to belittle both Singer's movie and the facts it is based upon themselves, but such moments are far and few between the greater, more viscerally adoptive ones. Cruise, who admittedly feels out of place within the feature's opening sequences, does well to transform as he does in his greatest roles, disappearing completely behind his persona to great effect. The same unfortunately cannot be said for a few supporting cast members, yet with such a large ensemble, this doesn't prove too much to put up with.
Conclusively, despite a few reservations about the movie's willingness for you to submit to the script's supposed foothold in fact, Valkyrie at the very least provides a decently paced and constructed story that will disgruntle historians but please those looking for a good story. Of course there are a myriad of problems, most of which occur during the film's opening, stultifying act, but if taken with a grain of forgiveness, Cruise, Singer and co do well to keep you firmly in your seat to see where it all goes wrong for Stauffenberg and his ever hopeful rebels with a cause. More Mission Impossible than Der Untergang or Saving Private Ryan, Valkyrie is a fine and riveting effort plagued by the very historical setting to which it subscribes to; World War II it seems is a playground for film-makers with ideas of grandeur and yet Singer here constantly feels like he should stick to the pages of comic books rather than those of solidified history.

A review by Jamie Robert Ward (http://www.invocus.net)