Would Hitler himself have displayed more emotions portraying von Stauffenberg (than Cruise)?

Rating: 6/10 (30 December 2008)

I find it ironic that in a movie where there is no such thing as only two dimensions (to the emotional states of the characters), that Tom Cruise finds a way to make this possible. I'm saying that as a person who has generally liked Tom Cruise, and really liked him in a couple of films. I can't remember a movie where I've thought the general acting, and story line was very good, but cared so little for the main character.
The movie follows a good story line; the only thing I really would have liked to see more of was some of the communications that went on behind the scenes towards the end, to add a little more depth from a historical perspective, and to build a little bit more suspense. I also did not have a huge admiration for the Hitler impersonation, as I did not find disgust enough for his character, but came in with low expectations of being impressed with those scenes anyway.
I thought the acting was generally very good, and the characters likable. Even some of the characters who didn't have any lines did a great job of displaying their emotions just from facial expressions alone.
That brings us to the main character who I thought seemed more like Hitler than did Hitler himself in the film. Besides a couple of scenes where the character was obviously distressed, and found in tense situations, I thought Cruise made for a very unlikeable and very two dimensional character. I didn't even realize the lack of emotional ties I had to his character until after the film had ended. Watch some of the behind the scenes footage as well, and see if you get a very unemotional impression of him there as well from how he talks to the other actors on set, like I did. I thought that the von Stauffenberg character was turned into a two dimensional being of almost pure action and decisiveness, when in reality, that poor man must have gone through emotional distress that few of us could even imagine - I felt the movie completely missed out on this very important aspect.
7 stars for the storyline and general acting, but the lack likability for the main character brings it down to 6 stars.