VALKYRIE (2008) *** movie review by COOP

In every scene in this film Tom Cruise’s character wears a uniform with a swastika on the lapel. One might think he’s taking a risky career move with his role in “Valkyrie.” In fact, he’s not. Here he plays a character so morally incorruptible and so zealously anti-Nazi, you can’t mistake him for one of the bad guys, not even while wearing the Nazi symbol of hate. This is quite the opposite of his (Golden Globe Nominated???) performance earlier this year in “Tropic Thunder” as a reprehensibly offensive Jewish stereotype. Somebody needs to enlighten Cruise on the concept of taking “risky-yet-brave” roles because he definitely doesn’t get it.

Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime(,) whom his superiors banish to the Tunisian front because of his self-righteous beliefs. After losing an eye and a hand in an air raid, Stauffenberg returns to Berlin and joins a cabal of disgruntled military leaders who plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler and stage a coup to overthrow the Nazis. In order to accomplish this, they must take control of the “Valkyrie,” Hitler’s military unit that secures Berlin in the event of an uprising. This unit is critical to the capture and arrest of Hitler’s top men while the cabal seizes power. Before this daring act of defiance can begin, Stauffenberg must personally assassinate Hitler.

The advertisers all but admitted they didn’t know how to market this movie, given it doesn’t fit any of the major audience demographics. It doesn’t have the action to satisfy the younger male group nor the romance to attract female interest. The appeal of a WWII German political thriller is so narrow that Hollywood is already expecting “Valkyrie” to bomb miserably. Makes you wonder why Cruise didn’t think of this before his production company greenlighted the $100 million dollar project.

Cruise, surrounded by much more respected English and German actors, is 100% distracting in the lead role. Nobody will buy him as a WWII German Colonel, especially overseas. I can already imagine translators re-titling this film “Tom Cruise vs. Hitler!” in Thailand and The Philippines. His one-dimensional character never cracks a smile, never doubts his beliefs and constantly cuts-down anyone who disagrees with him, usually his superiors. I would’ve rather seen this character start off with more ambitious ideals, then develop a more cynical attitude after losing a couple of body parts. His character doesn’t grow or change. He remains a holier-than-thou malcontent the entire film and I found him largely unlikable.

The rest of the cast performs brilliantly, especially the supporting British actors, including: Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Terrence Stamp and Eddie Izzard. Nighy (“Love Actually”) gives the most interesting performance as the nervous General Olbricht who manages a few moments of courage even though it’s obvious he wished he’d never joined the anti-Nazi resistance. Kudos also to Wilkinson (“Batman Begins”) who’s made a niche for himself lately playing scary, unstable authority figures. The German cast unfortunately gets sidelined into third-tier supporting roles, but reliable character actors like Thomas Kretschmann (“Wanted”) and Carice van Houten (“Black Book”) get a few shining moments of screentime.

Hitler appears in the film, and I wish he hadn’t. Every time he enters, the music changes to a “horror movie theme” and he skulks about like Nosferatu looking for a fresh neck to bite. Perhaps I exaggerated a little on that last remark, but Director Brian Singer (“The Usual Suspects,” “X-Men”) would’ve served the film better to leave him completely out of the picture. Hitler’s Darth Vader meets Hannibal Lecter-like presence distracts almost as much as Tom Cruise wearing an eye patch and swastika.

I also found the pacing within the scenes distracting. Cruise’s Stauffenberg dominates each conversation to a point where he leaves other characters stammering and blustery. There are too many awkward pauses as if the actors aren’t comfortable speaking their lines. This caused a lack of flow to the scenes that can take the audience out of the film (it made me check my watch a few times).

Unless your history is as rusty as a Panzer tank, you know how the film ends. The real-life resolution makes this story a little more than a historical footnote considering the more sensational happenings of that time period. I would’ve preferred seeing a documentary or possibly even an artsy German film about this event. I didn’t find “Valkyrie” interesting enough to warrant a mega-budget production with an A-list American in the lead. Despite my problems with the film, the story deserves telling. I appreciated the spectacular production design, the better than average cinematography and the perfect supporting performances. I think it would make a decent rental, but those not interested in the inner-workings of Germany in WWII might find it dull.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Trailer below…