Valkyrie

As presented in VALKYRIE, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg's plot to assassinate Adolph Hitler seems far from airtight. Too many variables are not controllable. Most notably, the physical properties of a site where a certain bomb will detonate. To say nothing that perhaps the target himself will decide on a late hour change of venue. For all of the meticulousness in planning, so many other factors were subject to volatility (for one, co-conspirators' cold feet), and the plot, which apparently did not consider a millimeter of deviance from strategists, potential victims or any dependent variables whatsoever, was in turn carried out rather hastily, sloppily. Or so it seemed to this viewer, who is admittedly no expert on battle strategies or WW II history.

I discussed this afterward with my friend, a serious history buff, who accompanied me to a screening of director Bryan Singer's 2008 film. He somewhat agreed, citing that the anxiousness of Stauffenberg et al perhaps got the better of their otherwise cool, rational selves. After General Trescow's (Kenneth Branagh) failed attempt to off der fuhrer with a bomb laden wine case, tensions ran high amongst the Resistence. Enough so for Trescow to recommend Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), who had just lost an eye following an ambush of a base camp in Africa. Stauffenberg had had his doubts about the dictator for some time, seeing the ravages to his German homeland. He was the man for the job.

Operation Valkyrie was an existing plan that utilized the Reserve Army to keep order in the country if anything would impede communcations of orders from Hitler, or if the dictator were killed. It was seemingly perfect. Stauffenberg would reengineer orders to exclude the SS from taking control, leaving the head of the Army, one General Friedrich Fromm (Tom Wilkinson, more or less stealing the film) in the driver's seat for the country. Stauffenberg and his hand picked mutineers attempt to recruit Fromm for their noble treason. The plan sees its first hitch.

You can see VALKYRIE, or better yet, bone up on your studies to discover how the plot fails. And fails it does, infamously. What eventually happens is not a mystery to historians, but the road leading to it (should) provides the meat of any recounting. Singer does an adaquate job in his storytelling, providing a reasonable amount of suspense with each morsel of information. My friend was quick to note how many facts were left out, but this is a film, not a miniseries. Still, having him fill me in on some lateral details made the story more reverberant, and provided a stark revealing of the failings of the film. Unavoidably, perhaps.

The viewer also gets some interesting minitiae on weaponry and inter (and intra) office politics of the time. Some meeting scenes with the principals draw us into the miasma of infighting, doubts, and eventually, denial. Technically, Singer also frames some impressive long shots of perfectly lined up swastika flags, artfully unfurling in the breeze. The director might have some sort of fascination with Nazis, having explored the subject previously in 1998's APT PUPIL.

There are some solidly cinematic moments, though curiously, when the plot is eventually carried out, this particular scene is not among them. Mostly, we get a fairly compelling meat and potatoes narrative, involving but far from profound, even with its devastating final scenes. It is the sort of unassuming film you'll ending up catching several dozen times on TNT on weekends. It seems ready made for small screen popcorn munching, albeit one with some intelligence.

Cruise and an impressive supporting cast do justice to their portrayals of martyrs, but they are just tools, much like the screenplay (co-written by longtime Singer cohort Christopher McQuarrie) and any technical attributes. Everything services a decent entertainment that never becomes anything more than a grade B programmer, reminiscent of so many movies that were actually produced during this time period. Someone said that "B" war movies are about war and "A" war movies are about people. VALKYRIE tries to have it both ways, and splits the difference. That said, probably more of a B+ than an A-.