There was no reason to suppose that Valkyrie, Bryan Singer’s account of a 1944 German plot to assassinate Hitler, would be up to much. For one thing, the film’s release has been postponed at least three times and has finally popped up as a January issue, January being the coldest month of all in terms of cinema attendance. For another thing, it’s got Tom Cruise in an SS uniform. Hello! Somebody call the Village People. One of your dancers is missing.
Just to further chill the blood, Valkyrie also features Eddie Izzard in jackboots. Good Heavens. Is this historical drama or Carry On Hitler?.
For all these dark suspicions, Valkyrie is a solid, engaging war movie. Mr. Cruise, despite the negative advance buzz, is perfect as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a soldier with a conscience and one of the key conspirators behind the July 20th plot. The Cruiser’s uncanny physical resemblance to the Colonel is further bolstered by a fine, restrained performance. By raising his game, he fits in effortlessly with his Best of British co-stars, including such luminaries as Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson. History, it seems, is not only written by the visitors, they snaffle up all the good roles as well.
Happily, unlike the recent spate of cut-price WW2 related flicks (The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, The Reader), this is the real deal. The opening scenes swoop between the 10th Panzer Division in Tunisia, Smolensk on the Eastern Front and the High Command in Berlin, a timely reminder that this is how movies featuring Hitler ought to be.