Valkyrie

With Christmas signaling the beginning of Oscar season, I was able to catch one of the Christmas releases that was likely looking to catch the eye of the Academy: Valkyrie, the story of one of the most memorable attempts to kill Adolf Hitler.

Tom Cruise graces the silver screen for the first time in a while (now that the media sensation around his romance with Katie Holmes has finally moved to the back pages) to play Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a Nazi officer who has come to see that Hitler is not the savior of Germany but in fact may be the single most dangerous man on earth. And as the movie begins, Stauffenberg comes to this realization just as his unit is being bombed in North Africa in 1943. After losing an eye, his right hand, and two fingers from his left hand in the bombing, he returns to Berlin to assume an office post, where is then approached by Major Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh, in too small a role) who recruits him into a society whose purpose is to kill Hitler and overthrow the socialist government of Germany.

With Stauffenberg now part of the resistance, he introduces a bold plan to the group: rewrite one of Hitler's executive orders, entitled "Valkyrie," so that it essentially tricks the Germany army into thinking that the SS is staging a coup in the event of Hitler's death—only it's the army that would end up being the coup for Stauffenberg and his associates, arresting the SS and toppling the socialist government to replace it with one that might be more amenable to Germany, Europe, and the rest of the world. The tricky part is, a rewrite of an executive order would require Hitler's signature, and a penetration of his inner circle. No easy task in either case, as the latter would require the conversion of many generals in the Germany army . . . and if one of them said no or decided to turn Stauffenberg in . . . well, you get the idea. It was a situation where the stakes were terribly high, terribly risky. And with an approved rewrite of the executive order Valkyrie, Stauffenberg and several generals were then able to put their heads together to formulate a plan to kill Hitler, put Operation Valkyrie into effect, and retake Germany.

But as was frequently pointed out by several generals, in a military operation, nothing ever goes according to plan.

Valkyrie was supposedly based on true events—or more appropriately, a Colonel Stauffenberg did exist, and he plotted and conspired against Hitler during the latter part of World War II. Though it's hard to say how historically accurate the events depicted in the film really are. All the same, Valkyrie proved to be an engaging wartime thriller, and it was interesting watching it from a future perspective—i.e., we already knew that Stauffenberg's plot would fail. Though if the story Valkyrie tells is true, then it's amazing to see just how close history came to changing on July 20, 1944—when Stauffenberg's plot was enacted and failed . . . by only a hair.

I have to say, Tom Cruise may not come readily to mind as someone capable of playing a Nazi officer, but he played his part very well! Though there were times (like when he was up against the firing squad) where he came across as more Braveheart than a Nazi liberator. Say what you will about Tom Cruise, but I still believe the man is a good actor. Putting aside the whole TomKat scientology schtick, all you need to do is look at films like Minority Report, Magnolia, and Born on the Fourth of July to see what he's capable of.

I also have to applaud director Bryan Singer, who's proven once again that he can deliver a quality, mature picture. We saw evidence of this way back in his breakthrough—and now legendary—film The Usual Suspects, but I think he kinda lost his way by transitioning to so many superhero films (think of X-Men, Superman Returns). With the directorial quality that he's demonstrated before, it's very gratifying to see that he's returning to form.

The acting overall was well done, though I was a bit surprised at how many British actors were playing German military officers: Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard, the aforementioned Kenneth Branagh. Even Hitler himself was played by British actor David Bamber, who nailed the character of Hitler! I can't speak to how well he imitated Hitler's voice or persona, but the mannerisms, the physique, and to a certain degree the facial makeup resembled Hitler amazingly well! What I enjoyed the most was how the camera angles kinda kept Hitler in the shadows, almost off-screen, so as to keep him mysterious, fearsome, elusive, hidden.

If I had one complaint about Valkyrie, it's that it felt a bit short to me. With a little more effort, I feel that Valkyrie could have been more epic, more grand and sweeping. But as it is, I still found it to be an enjoyable and highly watchable film. 7.5 out of 10. Oh, and going back to the Oscar motif for a moment, I don't see it getting more than a couple of technical nominations (e.g., Best Sound, Best Cinematography, maybe Best Original Screenplay).