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Another week, another World War 2 film. It's hard not to think that the current popularity of the subject is its moral certainty. It was good versus evil, a necessary war; much more clear-cut than today's struggles in Iraq and Afghanistan, regardless of what George W. Bush liked to think. That sense of absolute right and wrong permeates Valkyrie, Bryan Singer's return to reality after the middling reception of Superman Returns, and it's one of the only major flaws with the film. Valkyrie is about a plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944 that came closer than any other to actually working. Its perpetrators, led by Tom Cruise's Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, are mostly depicted as flawless saints, particularly the heroic lead. In real life, von Stauffenberg was known to be a fervent anti-Semite and not an altogether likeable character, but the film predictably brushes these unwelcome traits under the carpet.
Nevertheless, for those who can get past this simplification of history, which is the sort that happens all the time with Hollywood films, Valkyrie proves to be a very accomplished thriller. Beginning with a lively prologue set in North Africa, showing how von Stauffenberg lost an eye, his right hand, and two fingers on his left, Valkyrie is efficiently paced and grips for the majority of its well-judged running time. It has the structure of a heist film, with the first half devoted to the plotting and the second to the execution. The first half sustains interest with a driving sense of momentum and good acting from its excellent ensemble comprising mostly British thespians. Singer builds some tangible suspense on several occasions (despite the already-known outcome of the plot), one early example being von Stauffenberg's first encounter with Adolf Hitler, who is chillingly played by David Bamber in his relatively brief screen time. Once the assassination attempt is set in motion, it remains resolutely and morbidly gripping right until the unavoidable conclusion.
Given that the cast is mostly British, with a few Germans, a Dutch woman (Black Book's Carice van Houten as von Stauffenberg's loyal wife), being led by an American, it's surprising that the various conflicting accents never become distracting. Singer cleverly begins the film with Tom Cruise delivering a voiceover in German, before subtly and almost imperceptibly shifting into English. The director, working with his Usual Suspects collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, also displays an assured hand with the pacing and shot composition, making the most of the (rather controversial) opportunity to film in some of the real locations where the events look place. Another of Singer's previous accomplices, John Ottman, returns again to carry out the unenviable task of both editing and scoring the picture (the fifth time he has done so), both of which he succeeds at admirably. It is a reflection of the overall quality of the film, which exhibits most of its participants at near the top of their game, with Cruise proving once again that he was born to be a leading man.
The summary
A proficient, engrossing thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat despite prior knowledge of the ending. It would have benefited from just a little more character complexity for Cruise.
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