Valkyrie

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. (12/21/2020)

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! (01/16/2009)

As a reconstruction of historical events, it's captivating. From a purely cinematic perspective, it's slightly austere, but still very skillfully executed craftsmanship – Singer pulled off a feat that was somewhat expected of him. The English language might be distracting, but you eventually get used to it. Many scenes are breathtaking, with Hitler's character being particularly interesting. It's worth noting that it's not the actor himself who portrays the demonic aspect, but rather the camera, the chosen music, and the brilliant editing. The rest of the actors are also excellently chosen, there are plenty of stars and a large number of quality performances. It's not exactly entertainment, but with every frame, it showcases intelligent, raw, realistic filmmaking. It's a professional affair and a hundred percent clean work. (05/09/2009)

It couldn't have been filmed better (probably). This thought popped into my head during the closing credits. Singer has turned a theoretical weakness (the viewer knows how it will turn out) into a major strength and subordinated everything to a perfectly refined style. Complaining about a certain coldness in a film that takes place in a setting of perfectly cut uniforms and precise military hierarchy is like accusing romantic films of moving you. Cruise is whipped to the max in the company of the (mostly British) acting elite, with Singer taming his ego enough to make his character serve the story as well, not the other way around. I’m tempted to give it full stars for the tense quarter of an hour that immediately follows the explosion. But I'll save the last star for when the DVD version is at least 20-30 minutes longer, which will fix the minor mistakes (I’d like to see stronger motivations for some of the characters). 4 ½, knowing that this is one of the strongest cinema experiences of the year. Edit: After seeing it a second time, I send all the criticisms to hell and give the film the full thumbs up it deserves. (02/09/2009)

A fairy tale that is simplified beyond bearable limits, about the struggle between good Germans and ultra-evil ones, where all the motivations of the coup d’etat are summed up in the phrase "Hitler is simply evil. Excuse me, but what's that supposed to be? At least they could have touched on the real reasons. I felt as if I were on the verge of adulthood, and my parents were explaining to me that babies were created by mom and dad kissing, and then a few months later a stork delivers the baby. But despite the general knowledge of the event, despite Cruise being just Cruise and not Stauffenberg, despite the Germans scheming in English, despite the transformation of ranks and terminology to what they are called in the West, despite the inaccuracies, despite the unintended ridiculousness of the eureka scene (including the light bulb turning on!), Singer made the almost impossible possible. After a weak opening half hour, my respiratory system stopped working for tension in many scenes. So I left the movie theater pretty damn happy, but I'd still rather someone did a better job, faithfully, and in detail. Ideally under HBO's supervision. (02/05/2009)