Very Tense

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2009)

Whatever one's opinion is of Tom Cruise, this movie isn't to be missed. Valkyrie blends the brilliant true story of the July 20th Plot and an extremely tense atmosphere for for a great group of final scenes. Theoretically, there might be a small love story between Stauffenburg (Cruise) and his wife, but this is almost completely ignorable. In fact, Cruise isn't where the emotion of this movie comes from. His portrayal of Colonol Stauffenburg is one dimensional: entirely focused on killing Hitler. That being said, Cruise doesn't get in the way of the movie. It is the rest of the cast, which is mainly English, that shines. Bill Nighy's portrayal of Freidrich Olbricht is brilliant, combining cold calculation and quivering indecisiveness. One probably knows how this will end, considering Hitler wasn't assassinated, so the ending shouldn't come as a shock. All of the plotters end up dead: Cruise, Nighy, Parker, and Berkel all are executed via firing squad. It is this final scene where the movie reaches it true potential, watching their reactions to their imminent death is truly emotional. While the first 60-70 minutes are rather boring, once the explosives have gone off the movie is a tense and pulse-pounding must see film. In review: ignore Cruise and watch Nighy.