Many historical events, World War II in particular, have leant themselves particularly well to Hollywood films, in spite of audience knowledge of the general outcome of events. This is the chief problem of Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie", which never manages to engage the viewer enough so that there's any genuine tension. Because we know that Hitler has to survive the assassination attempt made by Col. Stauffenburg (Tom Cruise), and because we're never drawn deeply enough into the mindsets of the characters, we're never once left wondering, "well...maybe Hitler won't make it after all!" That's not to say that "Valkyrie" is a bad film, but it's nothing special either. It drifts languidly in a state of constant averageness, never ridiculous, but never gripping, or compelling either. Opening in northern Africa, we're introduced to Col. Stauffenberg, only minutes before an attack by British planes that leaves him horribly wounded (and therefore makes the sight of Tom Cruise wearing an eye patch tolerable). Once he's safe back in Berlin, apparently his first thought is, "hey, I want to find out if any other army members want to take out the Fuhrer too!", and off we go. From there he makes allies with Col. Olbrect (Bill Nighy) and a host of other talented British actors, all speaking with British accents, while Cruise hisses on and on in a flat American manner. And then there's Hitler himself, Stauffenberg's wife (Carice Van Houten), and several head Nazi members, all of whom speak in semi-German accents. Obviously continuity wasn't the biggest concern on the set (although, in fairness, having to listen to Cruise attempt a German or British accent could have been horrible). Apparently, neither was expressiveness, seeing as characters rarely change facial expressions (and no, it isn't because they're being "subtle"). But the biggest folly of all, as I mentioned earlier, is that Singer and company never delve into the mindsets of the men who tried to kill Hitler. We never learn exactly why they feel this motivation to take him out, except for being repeatedly told, "this war isn't being run the way I wanted it to be run". In that case, you almost want to root for Hitler, because his would-be assassins sometimes sound like a bunch of jealous, insecure whiners, and no one wants to root for a whiner. Film's first half somewhat drags, even though it's necessary for the overall set up, but even so, needed some trimming. Production values are great, and special mention should be given to the sound team, for providing explosions crisp enough to shake you in your seat (this should be be a bad sign that I'm forced to go out of my way to compliment the sound editors/mixers). Overall, a noble effort that squanders a great cast and fascinating story by deciding to settle for little more than mediocrity.
Grade: C
Nominations: none
Number of 2008 films seen: 48
