Review - Valkyrie

Studio/Production Company: United Artists
Director: Bryan Singer
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander
Rating: PG-13 for violence and brief strong language
Release Date: December 25, 2008 (theatrical)
Genre: Historical Thriller
Strong Points: Is relatively historically accurate; quite moving in most respects
Weak Points:
Technical Score: B+
Artistic Score: B+
Final Score (not an average): A-
Moral Warnings: One F-word, occasional uses of the 7-letter B-word, the D-word, and the H-word. God’s name is used in vain a few times. There is a fair bit of violence, including an explosion, a couple suicides and executions. They do not however, have any blood or gore. One person is hung by piano wire (the camera cuts away before anything is shown, but we see prior victims hanging lifeless). There is a good bit of drinking and smoking.

You may or may not know the name Brian Singer. But you have most likely heard of two movies he directed. He directed the X-Men movies, both of which were very popular.

Valkyrie is a “Historical Thriller," and is, therefore, based on events that actually happened. In the case of Valkyrie, the event is the July 20, 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, supreme chancellor of Germany. For the sake of the movie, I won’t reveal what happens, but I will say that the movie follows the history of the event very accurately. The plot involved the German resistance attempting to plant a bomb in the bunker known as “The Wolf’s Lair” and remotely detonating it from a safe distance. If the plan went perfectly, those killed would also include some of the Axis’s finest generals and even Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS.

Our view of the story starts off in Africa, with Colonel Claus Von Stauffenburg (Tom Cruise). When he is severely wounded in an allied air attack on his group, he is evacuated to Germany to be treated. He loses a hand and several fingers, as well as one of his eyes. Meanwhile, Major General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) puts a bottle of alcohol rigged with a bomb in the Fuher’s private plane, attempting to assassinate him with it. The bomb fails to go off, and he orders General Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy) to find a replacement for one of the conspirators that was captured in the failed attempt. The person he recruits is Von Stauffenburg. When Von Stauffenburg enters a meeting with the other conspirators, he is shocked to learn that there is no plan to assassinate Hitler. He is told to come up with a plan, which he does.

The plan is known as “Operation Valkyrie,” which involves the deployment of the Reserve Army to maintain order in the event of a national emergency. Von Stauffenburg gets promoted to a position where he can change the plan of “Operation Valkyrie,” which he does, so that the conspirators can control what happens in the event they succeed in the assassination attempt.

The acting is very convincing, and standouts in particular are Cruise and Nighy, with an honorable mention of Branagh. Nighy does an almost perfect version of his character, giving the viewer the impression that Olbricht is not a person you want to get on the bad side of. Cruise does a fantastic job of portraying Von Stauffenburg. In fact, he even looks somewhat like the real Stauffenburg did. Branagh does yet another excellent movie, portraying the highest ranking official of the conspirators.

The sound is excellent, with realistic sounds of warfare, and a fairly good soundtrack. Nothing in particular about the soundtrack stands out, but it does the job well. The cinematography in this film is super as well, with smooth camera work and excellent shots.

There is some content to be concerned over. The F bomb is dropped once, and there are a few instances of B******, D***, and H***. The Lord’s name is also taken in vain once or twice. Von Stauffenburg and his wife kiss a couple times, a reference is made to prostitutes. There is a good amount of violence, as this is a war movie, but the violence is neither bloody nor gory. There are a few execution scenes that are a bit disturbing. We see several people who have been hung by piano wire, and one person commits suicide by holding a grenade to his jaw.

If you are a fan of World War 2 history or of historical thrillers in general, then you will find this movie to be quite excellent. While it's most likely not the best movie out there, it certainly is good.

--Travis Martin