Good production values and great cast, despite flaws.

Rating: 7/10 (28 February 2009)

My Take: Tom Cruise and the strong ensemble cast make this an effective popcorn thriller, even if the ending is well-known.
Don't let it's initial appearance fool you! Though it may sound like a cinematic browse through history books, VALKYRIE, even with its detailed recreation of the almost-successful assassination of The Fuhrer, is a slick, entertaining Hollywood popcorn thriller. Sure, it's crammed with details, but as entertainment, it's more than serviceable, and yet it doesn't falter to the usual Hollywood trappings. VALKYRIE is that sincere kind of Hollywood entertainment that doesn't let Hollywood turn it into something it's not.
Tom Cruise is actually very convincing, not letting his popularity get in the way as a distraction, as one-handed, one-eyed Nazi Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. Worried about how his family would live under Hitler's Germany, he joins a crack team of conspirators (think OCEAN'S ELEVEN with Nazi uniforms) on a plot to assassinate Hitler (eerily played by David Bamber) and take over his Germany. Ironically, their operation (Operation: Valkyrie) was meant for coups like these.
It ain't nearly the most thrilling movie set on offices and war shelters, and it ain't much of a history lesson either. but perhaps the biggest fault of the film is its lack of real suspense or danger. Since we know how it all ends, the suspense being built around the first two acts aren't quite as gripping as its supposed to. But VALKYRIE gets the job done. It's thrilling down to the scenes where the team tries to sneak bombs in near Hitler's side or the scene where Stauffenberg has a one-on-one meeting with The Fuhrer. Terrific performances abound, especially the kind of quality performance we expect from a cast that includes Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Terence Stamp. Director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie does stick to some of the facts, even if its faithfulness takes some of the excitement away from it. It may not be the most suspenseful thriller ever to come out in years, but it's nonetheless effective. VALKYRIE delivers, flaws aside.
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.