Valkyrie Synopsis
It is 1944, and Nazi Germany is in full force in Europe. As Hitler governs his troops with an iron fist, a group of top level officers realize that the Fuhrer could destroy Germany and all of Eastern Europe in his quest for total domination. Unwilling to see their beloved country lost in this way, these officers plot to assassinate their own leader, and assume control themselves, saving what they can of what they've held dear and sworn to defend their whole lives. But at what price?
At the heart of this plot is Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), a wounded German soldier who recently lost his left eye, right hand and two fingers of his other hand, in a surprise attack on his regiment in Africa. Already opposed to serving Hitler in this war, Stauffenberg is more than willing to work towards a plan to topple Hitler's government, possibly ending Germany's involvement in World War II.
As he convalesces, Stauffenberg is approached by several high ranking officers, who decide to include him in their plot, already in the works. Stauffenberg soon proposes using an established Hitler protocol against him: Operation Valkyrie.
Designed to leave some measure of control to the Reserve Armies should Hitler be killed, Operation Valkyrie is covertly modified by Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators (even getting an unwitting Hitler himself to sign off on the changes), which would allow them to assume control of the troops. This would allow the plotters to stop, arrest, and detain any useful Nazi body that would present a threat to their takeover.
As the details unfold, Stauffenberg himself places a bomb near Hitler during a crucial strategy meeting, and he soon hurries back to Berlin to initiate the takeover plan. However not everything goes according to schedule (despite dramatic liberties, even historical dramas must give way to accuracy -- Hitler lived for another year, and commited suicide less than a year later, in April 1945), and Stauffenberg and his men scramble to salvage their well thought out plans -- and their lives.
Valkyrie Overall Analysis
This film is what all historical dramas should dare to be: well executed, well edited, and able to leave you on the edge of your seat despite the predictable outcome already known to the audience. Though viewers know that the plot did fail in real life, director Bryan Singer manages to keep the momentum going at an even pace, focusing on the characters' reactions to the story as it unfolds, and maximizes on the cast he has so capably put together. Singer, no stranger to the art of ensemble casting (he also directed the first two X-Men films, as well as The Usual Suspects), allowed his cast to mesh in a way that allows ample plot development, without the usual accoutrements associated with such a high caliber roster of well known actors.
Tom Cruise embodies Claus von Stauffenberg to a tee, as the newcomer to this failed coup, whose brainchild in using Hitler's contingency plans against him wins over the conspirators already at work. The beauty of Cruise's performance in this project, is that he doesn't turn it into a Tom Cruise film, but rather a fine performance which invites a similar level of top notch acting from his co-stars.
Also in the film (in no particular order) are Kenneth Branagh as Major General Tresckow, Bill Nighy as General Olbricht, Terence Stamp as General Beck, Christian Berkel as Colonel Quirnheim, Eddie Izzard as General Fellgiebel, and Tom Wilkinson as General Fromm.
There are many other notable actors in this film, and they too should be praised. One actor who could easily have been cast better, though, was David Bamber in the role of Hitler. Though the character only has a handful of scenes in the film, those he does appear in tend to leave the doubt of whether a much more lively actor could have filled Hitler's shoes. Much of the real world footage of the time showed Hitler to be very vocal, and very energetic. Bamber's portrayal of the Fuhrer is a very muted one, and this detracts the viewer from truly enjoying his role.
Regardless of this, Valkyrie is a throughly enjoyable thriller, which should not be mistaken for a war film, but rather a nail biting tale of intrigue and political machination of the highest caliber. Bryan Singer and his production team are to be commended for a well done product, which will no doubt be remembered as a high point for most of the cast members' repertoire.
8.5 out of 10, for a well executed story, a well rounded cast, truly a gripping tour de force
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