Valkyrie: Tom’s not going to Valhalla
Movie Reviews December 31st. 2008, 10:36pmThe heroes of this movie are those who sit through it. I was amazed and appalled at how uncompelling this film is. I’m a history buff and a WWII nerd. I knew about the Officers’ Plot and think it is a great story to be told. Despite the bad buzz, I was more than willing to give the benefit of doubt to this movie. I found nothing to recommend. The acting is mediocre. Cruise is out of place and unsympathetic. The script is dull. The cinematography was OK, but nothing visually exciting. The aftermath was skipped and that may be the most interesting part of the story. Hitler was never the same after this incident. His paranoia and mistrust of the Wehrmacht General staff only grew and any influence they may have had was gone. The ruthless extermination of anyone connected to the plot was glossed over. Irwin Rommel, The Desert Fox and a national hero, was implicated and forced to commit suicide to save his family. Not even mentioned. I didn’t think this film was apologetic of the Nazi regime as some have criticized, it is just bad. I got no feeling of the director’s vision and I’m left with unanswered questions. I know why some folks wanted to kill Hitler, I don’t know why they made this movie.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:15 pm
I actually am glad they made this movie if for no other reason than to educate the public about Nazi Germany and a relatively unknown aspect (to the unread masses that is) about the assination attempts on Hitler’s life. I actually think the movie was caught between trying to be historically accurate and thematically dramatic and never accomplished either objective. I think they could have done a lot more to help the audience connect with the moral dilemma experienced by these heros and the sacrifices they made to stop a mad man. When the tide of the plot was succeeding even with Hitler alive, I felt no sense of accomplishment or victory, and when the plot started to unravel, I felt no sense of loss. Of course, that may be because I knew Hitler did not die and that the plot would fail, but a good screenplay would have drawn me in regardless. While many reviews panned Tom Cruise’s acting job, I thought he did fine but was definitely outshined by a fantastic supporting cast. Two out of four stars for yet another movie.