Tom Cruise was set to roll into the city yesterday for a two-day media blitz designed to promote his upcoming project Valkyrie, a movie that has been beset with problems, but is being viewed by many as a chance for the once top-drawer star to revive his flagging career.

Among Cruise’s scheduled stops are MuchMusic, MTV and CBC’s The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos.

In Valkyrie, which opens Christmas Day, the actor plays Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, a German officer who led a plot during the Second World War to assassinate Adolf Hitler and seize power.

It’s based on true-life events.

Cruise, of course, has had a long movie career, starring in the Mission Impossible franchise, as well as critically acclaimed films such as Jerry Maguire and Magnolia.

But in recent years, his personal life has largely overshadowed his onscreen work.

Valkyrie is being seen by many industry observers as a litmus test of Cruise’s future viability as a bankable star.

It marks the actor’s second film under MGM’s United Artists banner, which he and Paula Wagner took over in late 2006 (she announced over the summer that she was leaving to produce projects independently)

(Source: thebarrieexaminer.com)