Valkyrie (7/10)

From “Lions For Lambs” to “Valkyrie”. Gone are the days of big-budget action and impossible missions? Let’s not write off Tom Cruise of that just yet. He isn’t even 40 yet.

Operation Valkyrie, or known in German as “Operation Walkure”, was developed for the German Reserve Army to take control of Berlin in the event of a national emergency. It was a plan that was approved by Adolf Hitler but ironically, it was this plan that almost succeeded in removing Hitler’s dictatorship.

Orchestrating this covert operation was Claus von Stauffenberg, and in this movie Cruise gives a respectable performance as the colonel.

Even with the knowledge that Hitler’s eventual demise was by his own doing, director Bryan Singer still managed to keep a thrilling pace around Tom Cruise’s von Stauffenberg who is tasked with the most important role of planting the bomb during a meeting with Hitler and his staff at Wolf’s Lair.

Singer even managed to keep both Cruise’s stardom and infamy in-check, blending him into the picture and never making the movie solely about him. The rest of the cast were given their own time to shine, and that’s another credit to Singer who is able to focus on many players in one movie without over-doing or over-compensating any; as can be seen in his X-movies and The Usual Suspects.

Singer also re-teamed with The Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie to tell this bit of history that culminated on July 20, 1944. However, as thrilling as it is, the story does not grip the audience emotionally.

Take for example Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, whereby when members of the resistance were captured and gunned down, there was a sense of loss and sympathy. But here is where Valkyrie failed to connect with its audience. But despite that one minor flaw, the movie is still boasts a well-written script, great direction and an incredible cast.