Valkyrie Mit Tom Cruise!

So after attending an entire evening devoted to the media wonder that is Tom Cruise, I just had to go see Valkyrie. Although my sister and I had to watch the movie from the front row of the theater (all those Times Square tourists keep slowing us down - is it January yet?), I was still able to focus enough to enjoy what the movie had to offer. What I felt it was offering was a very simplistic view of a complicated group of German officers who plotted to overthrow and assassinate Hitler, the kind of simplistic view that only Hollywood, backed by a glitzy lead actor, could produce.

Now clearly assassinating Hitler is a plot that we can all get behind and the reasons to want to assassinate him would seem to be perfectly clear (and they do mention some of the obvious points, including a brief mention of how they would close the concentration camps) but I thought it could have been a much more interesting film if the plotters' motivations had been explored in more detail. The stated reasons why they were so determined to be the ones to stop him (as opposed to letting the Allies get him) is to end the war sooner and save more soldier lives, be able to negotiate a better truce with the Allies and show the world that not all Germans stood behind Hitler. This would keep Germany's national reputation intact and keep the country more sympathetic in the eyes of the world during a post-war rebuild. Of course, overthrowing Hitler would also allow the group to assume power and, as my sister pointed out, the officers seemed to be from aristocratic backgrounds and they may have been able to reinstate the aristocratic class under a new leader. But those background motivations may have just been too complicated to work into a Tom Cruise Hollywood thriller film.

Because at the end of the day, the film treats Hitler as the ultimate ubervillain widget; it was just as equally clear why The Emperor had to go in Star Wars. Tom Cruise, the commanding American-accented officer (with an imposing eye patch) orders around some stuffy British-accented officers (including the Harry Potter/Pirates of the Caribbean/British Stars of Today blockbuster collection of Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Eddie Izzard and many other assorted film faces - it actually makes for a fun British Six Degrees kind of game) and promises that Hitler and the SS will pay. A seemingly perfect popcorn fun night at the movies plot. Sure, you know it is going to end badly before it begins but I still did have fun along the way.

Some particular highlights: The movie actually does have a couple thrilling sequences where the would be assassins try to carry out their plots - it makes me want to see more, possibly less historically charged, Christopher McQuarrie/Bryan Singer thrillers in the future (although it would take a lot to top their original effort The Usual Suspects). And David Bamber makes for a very scary Hitler - each time he appeared on screen, you could sense the villainy.

My summary may make the movie sound strange (how could one enjoy a film about Hitler?) but I actually did leave the theater satisfied. So if you're looking for a simple pleasures, diverting evening at the movies, Valkyrie may just be the film for you.