The same movie critic that wrote the review for ‘Seattle Post-Intelligencer‘, Wiliam Arnold, also sat down to talk to Tom about ‘Valkyrie’. Here’s his interview:

A conversation with Tom Cruise
Playing a real hero may be just what he needs

When the door opens and Tom Cruise enters the suite of Seattle’s Hotel 1000, it is with that distinctive whirl of charisma and seductive confidence that has made him the world’s biggest movie star of the past 25 years: killer smile, eyes that bore into you, the firmest of firm handshakes held for a few flattering seconds.

His hair is moussed back, and he’s dressed with casual elegance: jeans, Italian boots, a knit shirt with sleeves pushed up to his elbows. At 46, a few lines crinkle the corners of his famous face as he smiles, but he still looks so boyish he probably could get away with playing the lead in “Risky Business II.”

It’s the first week of November, and he has come to town to publicize his new movie, “Valkyrie” (which opened Thursday). Why so early? “Chris (McQuarrie, the film’s writer-producer) lives in Seattle, and we thought we’d give you guys the first crack at it. This is actually my first interview for the film.”

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Movie critic William Arnold: “The movie works like clock”, “Valkyrie” is a highly intelligent and deeply engrossing historical drama and, frame for frame, the year’s most suspenseful nail-biter.”
He has nothing but praise for script writer McQuarrie, director Singer and Tom’s performance and ends his review with this comment about the whole cast: “they all seem Oscar-worthy.”

Read the review here:

On paper, the World War II drama “Valkyrie” — which teams Tom Cruise with the “Usual Suspects” duo of writer Christopher McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer in a true story about a German plot to assassinate Hitler — is the Christmas movie season’s most risky venture, because:

It asks us to accept the still-boyish, all-American movie star in a role that seems well beyond his range and competence: that of an aristocratic, old school, German Army colonel.

It asks us to forget what we’ve been taught by the last 60-odd years of Hollywood moviemaking about German war guilt and accept an alternate reality that there was a vast internal resistance to the Nazis.

It asks us to feel dramatic tension over two hours for a story of which we know the outcome: Hitler was not assassinated and thus the movie’s conspiracy did not succeed.

And yet, despite these handicaps, the movie works like a clock. A few minor quibbles aside (the casting of Hitler, for instance), “Valkyrie” is a highly intelligent and deeply engrossing historical drama and, frame for frame, the year’s most suspenseful nail-biter.

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Our critics recommend…

Movies

Opening Thursday

Bedtime Stories Adam Sandler stars in this fantasy about a hotel handyman who tells stories to his niece and nephews that magically begin to come true.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton star in this adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man who is born in his 80s and ages backward.

Gran Torino Clint Eastwood directs and stars as a bitter Korean War veteran who sets out to reform a young neighbor who tries to steal his classic car.

Marley & Me A young reporter (Owen Wilson) and his wife (Jennifer Aniston) adopt a dog that teaches them about life, in a movie based on the best-selling book by former Inquirer columnist John Grogan.

The Reader A law student in postwar Germany discovers that the older woman he once had an affair with is on trial for war crimes. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet.

The Spirit A man turns himself into a superhero and battles a deadly villain, the Octopus, in this adaptation of Will Eisner’s graphic novels.

Valkyrie Based on the true story of Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), who joined other German officers in trying to assassinate Hitler.

Excellent (****)

(Source: Philly)

This review says: “It’s one of the more fascinating thrillers in recent memory, even though everyone who paid attention in history class will know exactly how it turns out.” and “…reuniting with McQuarrie has done wonders — he has produced an exciting, taut historical thriller in “Valkyrie.” ”
Read it here:

It had a troubled production, and it has gone through numerous shifting release dates, but the historical drama “Valkyrie” is a nice surprise — an entertaining historical drama that loses no momentum despite its not-exactly-unknown ending.

Director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, who combined to make one of the best films of the past 20 years (1995’s “The Usual Suspects”) re-team here on a film that’s not quite as well-constructed, but is still supreme cinematic entertainment.

“Valkyrie” tells the story of a failed attempt by a group of German military officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July of 1944, in the last of 15 known attempts to kill the Fuhrer. We see the plotting and the questions of who is with or against them until the attempted coup itself unfolds in nearly real time in the film’s second half.

Tom Cruise, who also produced the film through his United Artists mini-studio, stars as Claus von Stauffenberg, a German colonel who lost an arm and an eye in battle and seeks to redeem both himself and his country by murdering Hitler, ending World War II and making peace with the Allies.

The film gets off to a slow start, but once it gets going, it’s one of the more fascinating thrillers in recent memory, even though everyone who paid attention in history class will know exactly how it turns out.

The assassination plot actually has two parts — the actual murder of Hitler (via a bomb in a briefcase) and then the coup, which entails executing “Operation Valkyrie,” a military exercise that leads Berlin police to believe the S.S. is staging a coup and placing them all under arrest. The whole depiction of the plot unfolds brilliantly — much more brilliantly, that is, than the plot itself.

Throughout, the storytelling is tight and concise. Even better, the film also doesn’t try to be too bombastic or “important.” It doesn’t strive for modern-day political relevance or historical parallels, and it’s also surprisingly short, clocking in at under two hours. Aside from his comedic tour de force in “Tropic Thunder,” this is Cruise’s best performance in years, even though he makes absolutely no effort to look or sound German, while just about every other character in the movie is, at the very least, European.

Sure, a German accent might have been even worse, but it’s hard not to notice that when we see Cruise’s kids, they’re Aryan, but he’s, well, Tom Cruise.

The film does find some very good roles for a wide variety of skilled character actors like Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Terrence Stamp, Bill Nighy and even Eddie Izzard.

Singer, since his 1995 masterpiece, has had an up-or-down career, reaching such highs as the first two “X-Men” films, and such lows as “Apt Pupil” and the mediocre “Superman Returns.” But reuniting with McQuarrie has done wonders — he has produced an exciting, taut historical thriller in “Valkyrie.”

(Source: BSCN, Philly community)

Rolling Stone talks about “palm-sweating suspense” and a “satisfying movie”:

Tom Cruise starring in the fact-based story of a plot to kill Hitler by Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg sounds like Oscar bait. It isn’t. And the sooner you accept it, the more fun you’ll have at this satisfying B movie. Hearing Cruise’s American accent is jarring at first. But his British co-stars, including Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson and Eddie Izzard, don’t sound German either. No worries. X-Men director Bryan Singer and his Usual Suspects screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie will keep you in the game. Operation Valkyrie referred to a shadow government that would control Germany in case the Führer (David Bamber) bit the bullet. Stauffenberg and his cohorts planned to assassinate Hitler, kick in Valkyrie and forge a truce with the Allies. Since he lost his left eye in battle, as well as his right hand and two fingers on his left hand, Cruise wears an eye patch and prosthetics. Nice details, but it’s the palm-sweating suspense that counts.

(Source: Rolling Stone)

The Hollywood Reporter says that Christopher McQuarrie and his writing partner Nathan Alexander manages to maintain suspense and involvement in the unfolding conspiracy.” The coup itself makes for “fascinating viewing and much what-if speculation that should continue long after the credits roll”. The details are “convincing and presumably well researched”, and the film has a “documentary-like authenticity yet remains a sleek thriller filled with flawed heroes and catastrophic missteps. Singer has crafted a fine film. One just wishes for greater details — and a different ending.”

Film Review: Valkyrie

Bottom Line: Well-crafted historical thriller boasts fine performances but fails to probe the motives behind the plot to kill Hitler.

After keeping “Valkyrie” under wraps for months and moving its release date four times, MGM has finally pulled back the curtains on its Tom Cruise historical thriller to reveal a coolly efficient, entertaining and straightforward tale about the last of 15 known assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler.

Working against the known outcome of this plot, director Bryan Singer — reunited with his “The Usual Suspects” screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie and his writing partner Nathan Alexander — manages to maintain suspense and involvement in the unfolding conspiracy. With such World War II movies as “Defiance” and “Good” also on tap this month, there is no doubt the Nazis continue to provide fodder for movie producers.

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Access Hollywood summarized for us which movies we should see or skip this week at the Box Office. They list the movies and the verdicts by what they call the top reviewers, and show that 6 out of 8 on their list recommend us to go and SEE ‘Valkyrie’.

‘VALKYRIE’
Variety – Skip
The Hollywood Reporter – SEE
Los Angeles Times – SEE
USA Today – Skip
The Philadelphia Inquirer – SEE
Roger Ebert – SEE
Rolling Stone – SEE
MovieMantz – SEE

Of course we’ve searched for these reviews and you can find them here at the one and only #1 Tom Cruise Fansite!

Roger Ebert says of Tom’s performance: “Tom Cruise is perfectly satisfactory, if not electrifying, in the leading role.” Read his article here:

“Valkyrie” is a meticulous thriller based on a large- scale conspiracy within the German army to assassinate Hitler, leading to a failed bombing attempt on July 20, 1944. At the center of the plot was Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, played here by Tom Cruise as the moving force behind the attempted coup, which led to 700 arrests and 200 executions, including von Stauffenberg’s. Because we know Hitler survived, the suspense is centered in the minds of the participants, who call up the Reserve Army and actually arrest SS officials before discovering that their bomb did not kill its target.

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