Valkyrie

Valkyrie is a movie that I've heard gets a lot of mixed reviews. World War 2 movies are a dime a dozen, but they usually are war movies showing the allied forces fighting Nazi Germany. Its not very often that you see a movie about Nazi Germany.

Valkyrie is an incredibly different take on the World War 2 setting. The movie centers on a movement of German officers and politicians working to assassinate Adolf Hitler and end the tyranny of the Third Reich. Apparently there were about 15 known assassination attempt on Hitler before the surrender of Germany and his suicide in 1945.

The main protagonist of the film is Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg (played by Tom Cruise). Stauffenberg lost his left eye, his left hand and some of the fingers on his right hand during an attack on the front lines in Africa and is sent home with a new purpose to end the tyranny of Adolf Hitler.

He aligns himself with a cast of both military and civilian Germans with the hope of ending the war in Germanyand bringing peace back to Europe.

This cast includes actors like Terrence Stamp, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, and Kevin McNally.

However, the main focus is on that of Stauffenberg.

Their plan is to assassinate Hitler and establish a new government under one of the very laws meant to protect the Nazi regime in the case of Hitler's demise or capture. The operation is called Operation Valkyrie and requires the crew to prepare to incredible lengths in order for the plan to go off without a hitch.

What I like about this film and the entire plot is the relationship between civilian plans and military plans. I don't think I really understood it as much before joining the military but that was something that was fascinating to me personally. The main part that builds the suspense in the film is the fact that the plan does not go as its suppose to. While you're watching it , you start to look at certain elements of the plan and sit in suspense to see what goes right and what goes wrong.

I think the reason this movie may have had mixed reviews was the fact that if you are wise on history, you know that these guys fail.

The ending is pretty clear even before it happens because you probably should know that Adolf Hitler was not killed in a coup by people within his own country, he was killed by his own hands as the allies were at his door.

I suppose the redeeming part of the film is the fact that this incident isn't incredibly well known and most people don't know how this went down.

Now, I can't speak for the historical accuracy of the film because I haven't done the research. I usually am of the belief that most movies that say that they are based on a true story are embellished in certain areas, and realistic in others. What those parts are don't matter if the story is done well and the audience knows that they shouldn't think that this is how this happened shot for shot.

The movie has an interesting dynamic because in a way, it makes you root and feel a connection to people wearing the Nazi Germany uniform. Its a strange dynamic without a doubt because as much as you enjoy the characters, the truth is that these gentlemen would probably be put on trial if they had made it to the end of the war. That's neither here nor there since they didn't make it to the end of the war.

Another fun part of this movie I like is the performance of Tom Cruise.

I think that maybe this movie was trying to be more impactful than it actually ended up being. I don't know if they were trying to get Cruise an Oscar but all I can say is that its probably not an Oscar performance... that doesn't mean its bad.

Its a good performance that actually surprised me the first time I watched it. If you've watched any of my movies starring Tom Cruise, you'll know I'm always surprised even when I know I like him now. It started with this, followed by Jack Reacher, and I think solidified by Edge of Tomorrow, Tom Cruise continues to be an incredibly fun actor. Maybe he didn't win an Oscar for this movie, but he's fun no doubt. He carries the movie without a doubt. All the other performances are good. Again, its not anything mind blowing or award winning, but it makes for a good thriller and a look into a portion of history that kind of gets overlooked.

It all depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a suspense thriller, you're in the right place. If you're looking for a historical drama, you might get the historical part but the drama I'm not totally sure about.

The movie could have improved its drama little bit, especially with Staufenberg and his family. The movie is just more focused on the thriller aspects rather than the character development and drama. And that's the short of it. Go into it looking for a thriller, not a drama, and you'll enjoy Valkryie just fine.

But that's what I think of Valkyrie. What do you think? Comment and Discuss Below! Also shoot me a Tweet @cmhaugen24 and Follow me in order to get updates on the blog and some other fun stuff I put up there.