High stakes, high tension: Riveting WWII thriller a must for history buffs
“Valkyrie†pits Tom Cruise against Adolf Hitler in what at first blush sounds like a particularly surreal title bout in MTV’s claymation smackdown series, “Celebrity Deathmatch.â€
Casting the Tominator as Count Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the German army officer who led a near-miss plot to assassinate Der Führer in July 1944, was almost enough to sink a production that was rife with public troubles — many stemming from Cruise’s affiliation with Scientology, which gives the German government major heartburn.
In the end, director Bryan Singer delivers an impressive final product: crisp, sharp cinematography; digitally juiced sound that you feel in your bones; taut performances; and a driving script that keeps the tension rising in a steady upward arc.
Category: Valkyrie
‘Valkyrie’ is called “the biggest surprise of the season” in this review. “It’s a history lesson, but told with passion, style and action. And with so many holiday films proving to be such a downer, the strong message conveyed in this film is surprisingly positive and serves as a nice parable of the current world (and politics) we live in.” Read the review here:
The X-Men director Bryan Singer and Tom Cruise team up for great new thriller that surprises at every turn
The assassination of Adolf Hitler during World War II is the crux of Valkyrie, a real-life tale transformed into a crackerjack thriller under the helm of Bryan Singer and his The Usual Suspects cohort Christopher McQuarrie (who co-writes here with Nathan Alexander).
There’s fine attention paid to detail as the story slowly unravels showcasing several German officers plotting to get rid of Hitler and then stage an expertly planned coup to eliminate his cronies and their philosophies from continuing to be in power.
Spearheading the operation is Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) whose loyalties for Nazi Germany was fading on the battlefield, which ultimately took his hand, eye and dignity.
He has a pretty smart plan of how to take Hitler’s own contingency plan “Project Valkyrie†and use it against him – which results in some excellent suspense set pieces and taut pacing.
What could have been a muddied exercise in convoluted thriller plotting, turns into a very streamlined and sleek film. It doesn’t mess around much with too much characterization, not does it go further than face-value politics which makes the story easy for anyone to grasp.
The acting is top notch with Cruise giving a solid performance as Von Stauffenberg. The supporting cast is just as game with Nighy and Wilkinson in particular standing out.
“The film’s final half-hour achieves maximum dramatic heft as conflicting reports of Hitler’s fate present the characters with difficult choices. The fact that the audience already knows which option will lead to their downfall hardly matters. If anything, the knowledge the viewer brings to the film enhances the drama.”
The supporting cast is altogether excellent”, “Kenneth Branagh makes a strong impression”, “Cruise practically shakes with intensity but doesn’t upset the careful balance of the ensemble piece”.
‘Valkyrie’ is “a slick slice of historical intrigue — one that manages to keep the viewer engaged from start to inevitable finish.” Read the entire review here:
The makers of Valkyrie seemingly faced a mission impossible: create suspense out of a failed plot (spoiler!) to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
And yet the glossy Hollywood product works like gangbusters — a historical thriller loaded with tension and paced like a Messerschmitt.
“I bet many critics had their snarky comments already written on the way to the screening. But Valkyrie is a very good film, far more serious than it’s being given it credit for. It’s historically accurate, well acted and intelligent. Best of all, it’s surprisingly entertaining”, it’s “the most suspenseful movie we’ve been to this year” and “Cruise deserves a lot of credit for pushing Valkyrie in the face of public scorn at the very notion” is the conclusion of this movie critic. Read the review here:
“Why didn’t I know about that?” a man asked his buddy as they left a screening of Valkyrie, the World War II conspiracy drama starring Tom Cruise as Count Claus von Stauffenberg, the dashing aristocratic German army officer who came closest to killing Hitler.
Why, indeed? It’s a great, even inspiring story that anyone interested in World War II history should know.
Businesses at the nation’s shopping malls were probably grateful for the crowds of potential customers that anchor-tenant multiplexes attracted over the Christmas holiday weekend.
Attendance was reportedly up nearly 8 percent over the same weekend a year ago, as several of the top films exceeded analysts’ expectations — by a lot. “It’s a very strong finish to the year,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, told the Associated Press.
Twentieth Century Fox’s Marley & Me led with an astonishing $51.7 million for the four-day holiday and $37.0 million between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates.
Paramount’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button came in second for the four-day weekend with about $39 million and $27.0 million for the three-day weekend.
Disney’s Bedtime Stories finished third with 38.6 million from Thursday to Sunday and $28.1 million from Friday to Sunday.
Yet another surprise was the solid ticket sales for MGM-UA’s Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise, which several analysts had predicted would bomb. Instead it raked in $30.0 million for the holiday and $21.5 million for the weekend.
BERLIN (Reuters) – Tom Cruise has defied expectations and won favorable reviews from German critics for his portrayal of a Prussian army officer who tried to assassinate Hitler in 1944 in the Hollywood film “Valkyrie.”
German reviewers who were initially highly suspicious have warmed to the film, describing it as a serious work, and Cruise has overcome unease about his suitability for the role.
“‘Valkyrie’ is neither scandalously bad nor the event of the century. Neither is it the action thriller we feared, but it is a well-made and serious film,” said public broadcaster ZDF.
“Cruise plays his part decisively, coolly — a solid performance, though he won’t have a sniff at an Oscar.”
LOS ANGELES — An unusual alignment of top stars brightened Hollywood’s holiday box office as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler, as well as Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and a dog, pushed new movies to strong openings. (…)
Still, the weekend’s most significant victory may have been scored by Tom Cruise, the director Bryan Singer and the distributor MGM with their “Valkyrie,†which for the last year has been chewed over as one of the most difficult bets in the movie marketplace.
The film, in which Mr. Cruise plays a German officer who tried to kill Hitler, placed fourth for the holiday with $21.5 million in sales for the three days and about $30 million since opening on Christmas.
“We’re really happy here,†said Erik Lomis, who oversees worldwide film distribution for MGM. Mr. Lomis said the film, currently playing in about 2,700 theaters, will probably add locations this week as it capitalizes on strength in midsize markets where Mr. Cruise’s star power is helping it keep pace with films for which prospects seemed brighter. (…)
(Source: NY Times)
MGM performed a Christmas miracle this weekend. The studio took what was long considered a surefire flop anchored by a star on the decline and turned it around and into a big hit. That film, Tom Cruise’s war drama Valkyrie, debuted in fourth place with an estimated $21.5M over the weekend and a terrific $30M since its Thursday launch. Invading 2,711 venues, the thriller about a plot to assassinate Hitler averaged a sturdy $7,942.Valkyrie‘s debut was in the same vicinity as other Cruise pics like Collateral ($24.7M opening) and The Last Samurai ($24.3M) although those films opened on Fridays during non-holiday frames.
Valkyrie took advantage of a void in the marketplace and seized the opportunity. Emotional dramas like Marley and Button skewed female and Bedtime appealed more to kids leaving adult men with very few films to be excited about. Studio research showed that the PG-13 film pulled in an audience that was 55% male and 66% over 25. Backed by decent reviews, the World War II flick now has a shot at becoming yet another $100M hit for Cruise capping off a major comeback year for Suri’s old man who also delivered one of the summer’s most memorable performances with his Golden Globe-nominated turn in Tropic Thunder.
(Source: Rotten Tomatoes)
Bryan Singer has directed all sorts of movies, from the surprise-ending The Usual Suspects to such big-budget blockbusters as X-Men and Superman Returns.
But he had never directed Tom Cruise – until now.
Singer made Valkyrie, about an attempt to kill Adolf Hitler by the German army, with Cruise. There were rumors aplenty, and the film’s release date was moved several times, adding fuel to the fire. Cruise’s practice of Scientology also caused a flap in the German media, and the production was first denied permission to shoot at the Benderblock, where some of the plotters were executed (permission was later granted).
Singer spoke recently about the film, which opened Thursday, about gossip and buzz and what it’s like hanging around with big stars.
Most World War II buffs know about some high-ranking Germans’ attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July 1944. But not-so-well-informed history geeks — like me — should learn a lot from Valkyrie, Bryan Singer’s data-rich procedural about the close-but-no-cigar coup attempt.
A surprisingly suspenseful thriller, considering we know how it ends from the start, Valkyrie was painstakingly put together by “the usual suspects†team of director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie (Nathan Alexander also worked on this script). Light on military action — it’s mostly a series of high-risk deceptions, close calls and miscommunications — the film develops increasing tension through straightforward plot unraveling. Though inevitably talky, it benefits from a hushed, matter-of-fact tone that, while not the most dynamic way to tell a tale, certainly seems apt for the conspiratorial business at hand.
Individuals’ motives and contradictions could have been better-explored, but then the Third Reich was falling apart and Nazis were still Nazis. So what else do we really need to know about some sensible Germans’ rationales for trying to stop the carnage sooner rather than too late?
