Terrifying tale well told...

Rating: 10/10 (22 May 2009)

Even Bryan Singer's near misses, like APT PUPIL (which punked out in the end, for understandable reasons) and SUPERMAN RETURNS (a needless remake of a needless movie, with more lapses of logic than a Michael Bey movie), are beautifully crafted. So is VALKYRIE. Unlike the two aforementioned movies, the latter also boasts (like THE USUAL SUSPECTS and the first two X-MEN movies) superior writing and outstanding performances all around. I must confess I rarely read posts by others on the IMDb, but I came across one at random that sought to point out (needlessly) that the man portrayed by Tom Cruise was a Nazi and an anti-Semite. What was the tip-off- the Nazi uniform? While an examination of such a man's mind-set might (or might not) be interesting, VALKYRIE is about a coup attempt against the twentieth century's greatest mass murderer. It's a suspenseful story, told as well as can be told, and is chock full of small but memorable moments. For me, the most memorable has to be the scene where the Cruise character, missing his right hand, is ordered to salute a superior. Just one moment among many. Highly recommended- or, as one of the characters puts it: "You should hear what they have to say."