January 17th, 2009 By Robyn Oglesby
Movie Review: Valkyrie
Valkyrie, an historical thriller, is based off of the true story of Operation Valkyrie, a German military plan, which would call the reserve troops of the German Army to service during WWII. In 1944, some German dissidents conspired to use Operation Valkyrie to take control of the German SS and bring order back to the German government in order to make peace with Allied forces and end the war. In order for this plot to be successful, Adolf Hitler would have to be killed so that German soldiers would be free of their oath to be loyal to him.
The German dissidents enlisted the help of Colonel Claus von Staffenberg, a German Army officer who had shown some resistance to the Nazi party movement. Staffenberg was placed in charge of the reserve army, which also gave him the security clearance to be apart of Hilter’s inner circle. Because of this, Staffenberg was also given the assignment to terminate Hitler.
On July 20, 1944, the plot was attempted and failed. When the conspirators were caught, they were excecuted in the courtyard of the Bendlerblock, which was used as an administrative building for the military during the war.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Going into it, I really didn’t expect much. Not knowing much about the historical aspect of Valkyrie, I found the movie to be pretty suspensful. I knew that it was a failed attempt at an assassination of Hitler, but did not know all the details. The action of the movie starts very early on and as a viewer, I didn’t ever really get a chance to relax. Director Bryan Singer (X-Men, Superman Returns) gave Valkyrie an action movie feel while maintaining the historical nature of it.
After doing a little bit of research on Operation Valkyrie, I have found that the movie stays pretty close to the original plot. I’m sure some liberties were taken, but the basic story is the same. Tom Cruise plays the part of Colonel Staffenberg and is joined by other acting heavy hitters such as, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson.
Cruise took a very active role in getting Valkyrie made. He first took interest in the picture because Singer was directing it and later decided to commit to the lead role because Cruise and Staffenberg have similar profiles. Because the picture is financed by United Artists, Cruise is also listed as an executive producer. Cruise also led the crew in a moment of silence prior to the filming of the excution of the conspiritors at Bendlerblock.
While this film certainly does not reach the status of other WWII films such as, Saving Private Ryan or Schindler’s List, it is a good portrayal of Operation Valkyrie and not a bad way to spend winter afternoon.
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