I have this fascination with World War II and the key people involved, Hitler to be exact. This is the main reason why I watched Valkyrie. Unlike Inglourious Basterds, Valkyrie is based on historical facts. It was educational and entertaining at the same time.
Valkyrie is centered on Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise). Save for his accent, Cruise did well in playing the German army officer who was one of the leaders of the failed Hitler assassination plot. I don’t agree with Cruise’s religious beliefs but I have faith in his acting abilities. The supporting casts were great as well.
Within its two-hour runtime, Valkyrie managed to show how some Germans are unhappy with the dictatorship and their plot to remove the Nazi Party from power by killing Adolf Hitler. The cinematography brings the audience back to that dark period in world history. From the uniforms, locations; everything seemed authentic.
Adolf Hitler (David Bamber): The Valkyrie; handmaidens of the gods, choosing who will live and who will die, sparing the most heroic from an agonizing death. One cannot understand National Socialism if one does not understand Wagner.
I don’t need to understand Wagner to come to conclude that Valkyrie is a well-made World War II movie. If you haven’t slept through your history lessons then you already know that Hitler survived the assassination plot against him but Valkyrie is interesting enough to keep its audience attention at maximum. History buffs who found Inglourious Basterds to be an abomination should watch this instead.
