An ambitious drama about a famed 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Valkyrie is a curiously ineffective and uninvolving film, despite the hard work of a stellar cast headed up by Tom Cruise, who plays German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, a man disgusted with Hitler and the Nazis (even before he lost his left eye and right hand during an Allied attack in Tunisia). Reassigned to military headquarters in the Fatherland, Von Stauffenberg joins a coterie of likeminded officers (Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Thomas Kretschmann, Christian Berkel, and Eddie Izzard) and civilians (led by Terence Stamp) who are plotting to kill the Führer in his Wolf's Lair command center and end the war. Although director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie (who previously collaborated on The Usual Suspects) scrupulously adhere to the historical record, Valkyrie fails to jell (part of the problem lies in the fact that Von Stauffenberg's co-plotters are never fully introduced, nor are their positions in the Reich's hierarchy clearly established), ultimately coming across as a well-made but sterile drama. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include two audio commentaries (the first by star Tom Cruise, director Bryan Singer, and writer-producer Christopher McQuarrie; the second by McQuarrie and writer Nathan Alexander), the 43-minute documentary “The Valkyrie Legacy” on the true story, “The Journey to Valkyrie” making-of featurette (16 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a 39-minute “Reel Pieces with Tom Cruise and Bryan Singer” interview recorded live at New York's 92nd Street Y, the production featurettes “The Road to Resistance” (9 min.), “Taking to the Air” (8 min.), “The African Front Sequence” (7 min.), and “Recreating Berlin” (7 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing historical drama.] (E. Hulse)
Valkyrie
United Artists, 120 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.99, May 19 Volume 24, Issue 3
Valkyrie
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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