Valkyrie [Blu-ray] [2008] [US Import]

Given that this was made and released as a mainstream film with a big Hollywood name (Cruise) in the leading role, I had wrongly assumed that this would turn out to be another glitzy mis-recreation of an important historical event. How wrong I was! I was very pleasantly surprised with the treatment of the subject matter which was both sensitive and accurate: a rarity indeed!
Whoever has adapted this important historical event into a screenplay has done a tremendous job creating characters who are believably human (complete with flaws) whilst remaining faithful to the events. The cast is an excellent line-up of some of the best serious actors currently treading the boards and I was pleasantly surprised at just how much British talent is showcased here. It is obvious that a great deal of homework has been done and this could serve as a great lesson to other film-makers that you do not have to distort, invent or change the facts of history to make it entertaining (NB: U571, Pearl Harbour, Inglorious Basterds!).
I would recommend this film to anyone who has even a passing interest in WW2 or even viewers who simply enjoy a good tale well told.

When it comes to Tom Cruise movies, there are normally two certainties. Namely: the poster art will consist solely of his face and no matter what the situation, his character will have availed himself of impeccable dental care.

Cruise may be nominally the star but to surround himself by such capable talent on both sides of the camera lifts Valkyrie above his average vehicle. It's directed by Bryan Singer, who reunites with his Usual Suspects collaborators Christopher McQuarrie (co-writer) and John Ottman (composer and editor). The ensemble includes Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Terence Stamp.

The subject matter also represents a departure. The true-life story of an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler means everyone knows up front that he won't be riding off into the sunset, having got the girl who 'completes' him. In fact, Cruise's physical resemblance to the person he portrays, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, is uncanny.

Von Stauffenberg was an outspoken opponent of the Hitler regime and the prime mover behind a daring plan to eradicate the dictator from the scene once and for all. The fact that Der Führer didn't meet his end after walking into an elaborate mousetrap makes witnessing what might have been all the more fascinating. Indeed, the tension is ramped up throughout and despite their being on a hiding to nothing you find yourself rooting for the conspirators.

The one potential sticking point is the use of the actors' natural speaking voices instead of German accents. It's obvious that some of the cast would be better at them than others so this is neatly transitioned right at the beginning. You soon accept that it's a theatrical convention and doesn't detract from your enjoyment.

Singer employs a bright colour palette, which helps the Blu-ray format shine to its best advantage along with a powerful DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. The disc isn't light on extras either, with two commentaries and several featurettes covering the making of the film and a feature-length documentary about its historical background.

In a break with tradition, Cruise has allowed the cover art to include all the principal cast. Alas, his teeth remain a lighting cameraman's nightmare. It is nonetheless very highly recommended.

Although some saw Tom Cruise's last film as a possible propaganda vehicle, it's tempting to look upon it more as a cry for help. After seeing him playing a man so increasingly disillusioned with the insane control-freak tendencies of the personality cult that has taken control of every aspect of its followers lives and sets out to destroy all who disagree with it that he becomes part of a doomed plot to kill its leader, David Miscavige probably made sure the security was trebled next time Cruise visited the compound.

Valkyrie is one of those films that's neither the disaster many were hoping for nor quite as good as it could have been, never quite veering to either side as it all too steadily ploughs its course through another retelling of the failed July Plot to assassinate Hitler. If there are no real lows there are also, sadly, precious few highs, the film retelling events efficiently but never really gripping as tightly as it should and only briefly engaging the emotions in the final scenes, and those you suspect more for the fate of the real people involved than those onscreen. It's a noble effort, but it's hard to resist comparing it to the failed assassination attempt: it makes a big noise but it doesn't quite hit the target.

Originally intended as a lower-budget directorial outing for co-writer Christopher McQuarrie and German actor Thomas Kretschman, who gets a fairly thankless supporting role as consolation, it's certainly a big improvement on eventual director Bryan Singer's ponderous take on Superman, but despite marshalling some impressive resources thanks to Tom Cruise's involvement, it never quite grasps the epic enormity of its subject: the first half is less a desperate attempt to pull back from the brink of destruction than a series of measured conversations in rooms and offices. Despite some flat one-dimensional characterisation, it doesn't entirely idealise its conspirators - as one unwilling recruit blackmailed into co-operating tells them, they're like rats deserting a sinking ship who may be no better than the people they want to replace - but it's only when their plan starts to go wrong thanks to stalling, indecision and plain bad luck that the film starts to take hold. Multi-tasking editor/composer/co-executive producer John Ottman's score could have given the film more help at times, but only really comes into its own in the end credits. It's a worthy effort, and not nearly as bad as that word now implies, with some good supporting performances from Tom Wilkinson, Christian Berkel, Kenneth Branagh and Terence Stamp (though Carice van Houten is wasted as Cruise's wife): it just needed to be that bit more forceful and direct to really fulfil its promise.

As is increasingly common, the DVD edition stints on the extras - even the documentary is a cutdown version of the one included on the BluRay.