Valkyrie - B

On July 20, 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) and a his conspirators tried to seize control of the German government by assassinating Adolf Hitler and implementing Operation Valkyrie, which allowed some higher ups in the government to falsely claim that SS members loyal to Hitler were actually trying to stage a coup. The political details and entanglements get much more complicated than that, as does the plot itself with its 2 dozen characters whose own loyalty is sometimes unknown. Co-writers Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Nathan Alexander do an admirable of job of organizing the events and director Bryan Singer squeezes a surprising amount of tension out of several moments. Singer also provides some beautiful aerial shots of forests and stages some solid action scenes (North Africa and the ending shootout).But while Singer casts his film with a very accomplished bunch (Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp), none rise above the material to excite or interest. David Bamber’s Hitler isn’t a close match in appearance and pales in comparison to Bruno Ganz’s electrifying performance in Downfall. Cruise is OK, but always looks out of place in period films (The Last Samurai, Far and Away), partly because he’s the epitome of the modern Hollywood star. In 1943 North Africa, von Stauffenberg lost his right hand, his left eye, and his left 4th and 5th fingers. These serve more as distractions than adding to Cruise's character. We’re used to seeing Tom Cruise whole, usually with an internal struggle rather than an external one. His character never doubts his motivations, even when his wife and children are endangered and this is a lost opportunity to give the film added weight.
The film feels like a spruced up version of a History Channel special. Von Stauffenberg’s moral certainty is inspiring, but the numerous characters and lack of time spent with each dilute the dramatic impact. It’s a plot-driven film and the characters are an afterthought - which isn’t necessarily bad, just not exceptionally rewarding. B