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I love this movie so much

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

good back-story, and good acting

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Very well directed and well acted. It's highly suspenseful for a film about a real life event the outcomes of which are well known. I was engaged and on the edge of my seat through out the whole film. Even as you watch the ill fated coup unfold, you can't help but root for the characters and worry about them. I was moved by the officers' courage and nerves despite their motives not being very pure from a non German's POV. Tom Cruise did well, more subdued and wary than his usual performances. Fromm and Abrecht's characters are both handled with nuance. I also really like the adjutant to Stauffenberg, he's assured, committed, perhaps feels even more reliable than some higher ranked officers. His last moments made me tear up, fearless and loyal. The professional critics were wrong, their criticism were very shallow, many of them devoted half their piece to bitching about the accents. International audience like me don't care about such thing.

As informative as it is intriguing, Valkyrie is a finely carved, swiftly paced & well acted historical account that takes a leaflet out of the countless unforgettable events which occurred during the Second World War, and brings it to cinematic life in a tense & gripping fashion but what hinders it from making the desired impact is Tom Cruise's own star presence.Set in 1944 during World War II, Valkyrie chronicles the path to July 20 plot, a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, that was concocted by Claus von Stauffenberg & his associates in order to remove the Nazi Party from power. The plot briefly glimpses over Stauffenberg's early life before focusing on the plans & preparations to assassinate the Führer & end the war.Directed by Bryan Singer (best known for The Usual Suspects & X-Men series), Valkyrie unfolds at breakneck speed once the board is set but it tries to handle too many characters at once, which often results in confusions regarding who's supposed to be playing what role in the game plan. Singer's direction exhibits a kinetic flair, and he is able to keep the viewers invested in his story.The screenplay does take notes from historical records but it also takes artistic license with a few events to dramatise the narrative but it's restrained to a level that doesn't affect the main premise. The period-specific detailing is a welcome attribute, the glossy camera-work only adds more shine to its images, Editing is slick for the most part, and John Ottman chips in with a score that does its required job.Coming to the performances, the cast consists of Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Thomas Kretschmann & others, and the supporting cast play their respective roles in a responsible manner. Cruise himself delivers a strong input as Stauffenberg but he's unable to get rid of his star status, and is never truly convincing as the given character. Lastly, whoever played Hitler was just awful.On an overall scale, Valkyrie is no masterpiece but it does bring to light the legacy of Claus von Stauffenberg & his noble cause to show the world that not everyone in Germany shared Hitler's ideals. The film works as a thriller, is thoroughly engaging, and continues getting better as plot progresses before finishing on a powerful note but it's not impressive enough to garner a spot amongst the finest examples of its genre. Definitely worth a shot.

the subject is a great challenge. because the story is well known . and the expectations to have the most inspired adaptation on screen is the first step. the virtue of entire team of Valkyrie is to do a real surprising film. precise, correct, nuanced, impressive. not the story of a man and his followers but the construction of an idea. the atmosphere of Nazi Germany, the motivation, the family's support, each dialog and each move, the smell of the war and the force of an ideal. and, sure, Tom Cruise in a role who remains confirmation of his talent and hard work. a film who is a splendid homage to the Resistance and, in same measure, a profound useful portrait of a fight under the dictatorship regime.

A largely historically accurate account of the failed 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, this is a very effective thriller which maintains a high level of tension and foreboding throughout. The very good script by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander has a nice eye for historical detail and respects the audience's intelligence while Bryan Singer directs the film with his usual flair. At 1 hour and 50 minutes, the film is not especially long and it rollicks along at a very brisk pace.Tom Cruise is a modern day John Wayne in that he is a great film star as opposed to a great actor but he is perfectly fine as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a man of great courage, honour and resourcefulness who is recruited into the German Resistance in 1943 and becomes one of the leading figures in the plot to save Germany from Nazism. Even before the war, von Stauffenberg was dubious of the Nazis and these feelings became more pronounced as he learned of their atrocities. He is able to cut through the constant arguments that are besetting his co-conspirators and convinces them of the necessity of cutting off the snake's head rather than attacking its tail. He has a clarity of vision which makes him the perfect person to lead the operation. His assumption that Hitler has been killed in the explosion at the Wolf's Lair is based not on wishful thinking but on a reasoned and perfectly logical conclusion based on the evidence that he could not have survived, though one which unfortunately turned out to be incorrect.Although he is credited second, Kenneth Branagh has little more than a glorified cameo as General Henning von Tresckow but he is extremely good in the role. Bill Nighy gives the best performance in the film as General Friedrich Olbricht, whose neurotic behaviour and indecision causes many problems for the Resistance. In spite of this, he is depicted as a good man but one who would probably not have been allowed to play such a significant role in the plot due to his unsuitable personal traits if the Resistance had had more options at their disposal. Tom Wilkinson is excellent as the "careerist pig" Friedrich Fromm who becomes involved in the plot out of love for himself rather than out of hatred for the Nazis. Kevin McNally is suitably unctuous as Carl Goerdeler, a more antagonistic figure in the film than in reality who would have become Chancellor of Germany had the plot succeeded. Terence Stamp brings a great deal of quiet dignity to the role of the would-be President Ludwig Beck, who displays great wisdom and integrity in all of his scenes.Out of the supporting cast, I was very impressed by David Bamber as Hitler (who, wisely, is kept off-screen for the most of the film, making only brief appearances), Jamie Parker as Lt. von Haeften, Carice von Houten as von Stauffenberg's wife Nina (who died only two and a half years before the film was released), Thomas Kretschmann as Otto Remer (an infamous postwar Holocaust denier), Christian Berkel as Colonel von Quirnheim, Kenneth Cranham as Field Marshal Keitel and Tom Hollander as Colonel Brandt, a major thorn in the conspirators' side for most of the film who unwittingly saved Hitler's life at the cost of his own when he moved the briefcase containing the bomb. It also features nice small appearances by Bernard Hill, Danny Webb, Chris Larkin, David Schofield and Ian McNeice. However, I thought that Eddie Izzard was a very odd choice for Fellgiebel, though he does try his best.The aborted 15 July attempt on Hitler's life is not depicted in an entirely accurate fashion but, had it been carried out then, it may have had a better chance of success. I can't help but wonder how the Allies would have reacted if the plot had been successful in assassinating Hitler. I'd be interested in reading an alternate history novel on the subject. The use of Operation Valkyrie to seize control of the government was a brilliant idea which could very well have worked if Hitler had been killed. I thought that the film did a very good job of portraying the confusion that plagued both sides in the hours after the bomb was detonated, particularly as regards whether Hitler was alive or dead. He was basically Schrödinger's Führer! Overall, this is a gripping thriller which depicted the events surrounding the 20 July plot and the individuals who laid down their lives to enact it with a great deal of admiration and respect.