expect thrills and a pulsating tale of idealism but not a masterpiece

Rating: 6/10 (31 January 2009)

The air is literally full of tension and thrills, also at the beginning when the first killing attempts are made. Tom Cruise is helped in his aim by a lineup of British supporting players, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard and Tom Wilkinson. The story follows an evident tradition of Hitchcockian situations, the excitement coming out from exchanges of dialogue more than from big action scenes (a few explosions in this instance). Stauffenberg's role is depicted as emotionally rousing, and that's probably the sticking point of the film; other than that, in spite of an interesting and original perspective of World War II, the film doesn't break the ranks of a good thriller.