Sworn to fight and die for his country, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is a man of his word. However, after being injured during duty, the famed Colonel begins to see the effects that Hitler is having on his country. Endlessly hoping that someone, somewhere will find a way to stop the crazed leader, Stauffenberg awaits word of Germany's chaotic destruction. Unable to see his country go down without a fight, a mission is comprised that will use Hitler's own emergency plan, Operation Valkyrie, against him. With everything in place, the man who once swore to serve under Hitler and his prestigious army sets out in a corrupt and unique attempt to assassinate the man responsible for an inhumane number of deaths. The entire world is watching on, hoping that one man will be able to do the unthinkable and bring the world to peace again.
To say that the ground had been laid for a brilliant, if not heat-pounding adventure would be a ridiculous understatement. Action, war, espionage, it is all here and ready for the taking. However, for some unbeknownst reason, director Brian Singer choose to take a more informative rout, giving audiences a lot of information but not enough action to fully satisfy their needs.
To start things off, the film, though depicting a series of events in Germany during the heart or World War II, is spoken entirely in English. Never is there a hint of the German language, nor a sign of an accent. Instead, Tom Cruise and company chose to ignore that miniscule aspect of the story, 'Americanizing' it for the benefit of those watching on. Whether it was done out of convenience or sheer laziness, the choice was detrimental to my enjoyment of the film.
Throw in a mundane, insincere approach to the a catastrophic story of deceit and unfortunate circumstances and the film that could have been an iconic masterpiece falls merely by the wayside, not even begging for someone to pick it up.
Fortunately, the film wasn't all bad. Mixed in with the mediocre was the 'better-than-expected' and surprisingly well done acting by Tom Cruise. Serving as producer of the film, Cruise has more on the line with Valkyrie and it shows. While many of the other actors go through the motions, sleep-walking their way to the credits, Cruise gives it his all. The performance isn't anything close to stellar; however, it does fall into the iconic, yet still demanding 'better-than-expected' category. The positive is a stretch, but in a film where everything is simply mediocre, it will have to do.
Ultimately, many will enjoy Valkyrie, as most of my friends found it to be a fascinating tale of espionage. Others will find the story an interesting aspect of the war that was never taught to them in school. But for those like me, the film will be nothing but a disappointment, for in the big scheme of things, we always expect a little more than what we are actually given - it is the human curse.
