DVD Released June 4, 2009
Tom Cruise doesn't deserve half the flak thrown at him. Regardless of whether he believes there's an alien named Xemu ruling a "Galactic Confederacy", he seems like an affable fellow and does an admirable job playing good-German Von Stauffenberg in Bryan Singer's taut WW2 thriller.
Plagued through much of its production with controversy due to Cruise's involvement and Hollywood’s hijacking of the German July plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944, Singer wrings every bit of tension out of the concept while remaining close to the facts. The title comes from "Operation Valkyrie", a contingency plan if the ruling Nazi government were to fall. This plan is hijacked by a team of conspirators played by British stars Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, and Terence Stamp, who, led by Cruise, attempt to overthrow the Nazis and make peace with the allies before their beloved Germany is destroyed.
Shot in many of the real locations and historical buildings in Berlin, it feels authentic even through it’s still clearly a big-budget American production. Cruise is almost a physical doppelganger for Stauffenberg, and the actors chosen to play our favourite Nazis are well chosen – Harvey Friedman is especially great in a small role as the slimy Goebbels. By ignoring much of the cultural context to the assassination attempt it’s not the complex film it could have been, but it remains tight and consistently engaging.
This single-disc DVD release contains two commentaries, a making-of documentary and a feature about the German resistance, all of which are informative without succumbing to excessive back-slapping.
3.5/5
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