While I was impressed with this film, I was not awed by the performance of Tom Cruise. Other than the lack of German accent, Cruise (who played Stauffenberg) seems monotone and distant. I realize this was a serious matter, but there were no moments in Cruise's characterization that led me to like him, other than his task at hand. Was this the actual personality of Stauffenberg? If it was, then Cruise succeeds in his portrayal of this man.
Valkyrie has a star-studded cast with remarkable performances by Tom Wilkinson (General Friedrich Fromm), Terence Stamp (Ludwig Beck), and Eddie Izzard (General Erich Fellgiebel). But it is the performances by Kenneth Branagh (Major-General Henning von Tresckow, afar cry from playing Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Bill Nighy (General Friedrich Olbricht), and Christian Berkel (Colonel Mertz von Quirnheim) that I found to be riveting and who brought more authenticity to this film.
Since truth is stranger than fiction, and in most cases more powerful, you can count on me to watch, learn from, and enjoy films that are based on real-life events especially ones that focus on history. Valkyrie is such a film. It is rich and exciting, offers an amazing cast, is well-written (Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander) and directed (Bryan Singer), and the cinematography is fabulous.
Valkyrie is now out on DVD and includes a compelling 42-minute documentary. If you haven’t already seen this film, you should for its entertainment and educational value concerning an intense event in our world’s history, one of which we all wish would have ended differently — the removal of evil at its core by assassinating one of the most depraved and diabolical leaders the world has ever known.
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Article comments
1 - Martin Howard
Agreed on the review... really enjoyed this movie. Have you seen any of the behind the scenes stuff yet? It really just goes to show you how authentic they really tried to make this film. Take this clip for example.
2 - Christine
Thanks Martin, and the clip you sent was terrific! I did watch the "Legacy Documentary" part of the special features, which is included in the 2-disc special edition! Love films based on true stories, to me the are the only ones worth watching these days!