Valkyrie (2008) PG13 - 3 Stars

My biggest complaint with this movie is I didn't feel like I was in Germany at all. Every word in English, was uttered with out one real German accent. At first, I was wondering if the characters were really from America, infiltrating and blending in behind enemy lines. Yeah Tom Cruise is a great actor, but I never got that total feeling of being in the hostile Germany, as it was under Hitler's rule.

Taking place in Germany during World War II, a group of political German officers plot to knock down the Nazi regime and assassinate Adolf Hitler (David Bamber), before Germany is destroyed itself. These officers take action by recruiting Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) to join in the resistance movement, and construct the perfect plan. Colonel Claus a loyal officer who's lost a hand, a couple fingers and an eye, serving in his military career. But he can no longer sit quietly back watching his country being destroyed and takes action by risking his life and that of his wife Nina (Carice van Houten), in order to pull this off. Claus creates an ingenious strategy involving Operation Valkyrie, the Fuhrer's own emergency plan. If it works, the Nazi government can topple from the inside out.

Meeting with other high ranked officials Gen. Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy), and Major-Gen. Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh), Claus rewrites the order in Operation Valkyrie, to exclude the SS from taking control and instead putting the control in General Fromm's (Tom Wilkinson), hands. But as Claus tries to recruit Gen. Fromm, Fromm stays neutral but does keep his mouth shut. With the men in place, all Claus has left to do is get Hitler to sign this new Operation Valkyrie.

Bad Hat Harry Productions, Achte Babelsberg Film GmbH, MGM Distribution Company
Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander
Producers: Christopher McQuarrie, Bryan Singer, Gilbert Adler

I viewed 5/09