Valkyrie

Singer back to being a genius. I don't even know why I was afraid of a lack of humanity or a cold approach. The tension comes from just a glance at the army or a fleeting shot of Hitler's back of the head. It is precisely the authenticity and documentary veracity that give the final catharsis the stamp of the purest emotions. (26/02/2009)

The first half an hour was admittedly difficult, full of Hollywood clichés, with each prominent character being a well-known actor, which made it almost impossible to believe that this group was the one that took part in the real Operation Valkyrie. Tom Cruise had a lot of confidence when he decided to become Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg. But if one agrees to play the game, one wins and is rewarded with one of the best films about the assassination of Hitler. (22/12/2020)

A historical thriller executed with precision, which, even despite the handicap of having a known ending, manages to generate tension better than most of today’s competition. Cruise is not quite up to the task, which results in several uneven scenes (the ones with his wife), but the perfect performances of the rest of the cast more than make up for it. It’s not a perfect film by any means, but I still liked Valkyrie more than three fifths of this year’s Oscar contenders. (17/02/2009)

Valkyrie will be enjoyed the most by those who like to dig into this particular historical period. Bryan Singer approaches his subject matter responsibly, without twisting history to better suit his movie. Valkyrie doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t; it has no ambition to be a piece of “high art” and it doesn’t comment on politics like Spielberg’s Munich. It just reconstructs events as a solid conspiratorial thriller with high production values, exciting and well-cast (despite being a small part, Kenneth Branagh’s General von Tresckow is the film’s most interesting and best played character). And its ending doesn’t lack emotion or depth, which reminds us that someone was courageous enough to at least try... P.S. John Ottman’s choral main theme is beautiful! (16/01/2009)

Singer did a good deal of work on this and everything is in the right place. He literally delights in the authenticity of the setting and the event. Cruise’s acting is good and his performance as Colonel von Stauffenberg will win you over. Simply because of what a good guy he was. It was excruciating knowing how his assassination attempt worked out. (30/04/2009)